Prison fire kills scores in Chile

At least 81 people are killed and many more injured at a detention facility southeast of the capital. Last Modified: 08 Dec 2010 13:29 GMT

A fire at a prison in southeast of the Chilean capital, Santiago de Chile, has killed at least 81 people, officials have said. Police Colonel Jaime Concha said 14 inmates were also injured in the fire at the San Miguel prison, which broke out before dawn on Wednesday in a wing of the prison. "We don't yet have the identities" of the deceased inmates, he said. It was not immediately clear what caused the fire. Prison officials said one firefighter was among the dead. Television footage showed flames engulfing the jail and black smoke billowing from the building. Some inmates waved their hands through bars in one wing of the prison, as family members cried and screamed, imploring police to let them into the prison to rescue their relatives. Some relatives of inmates told state television that prison police had closed the gates to the prison, impeding access for firemen. Jaime Concha, the police operations director, insisted that police had acted quickly despite coping with a prison population of 1,900 inmates. The prison was built for 700.

Source: Agencies