Horror in Honduras: Hundreds Die in Prison Fire
- Posted on February 15, 2012 at 9:01am by
Jonathon M. Seidl
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TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras (AP) — Trapped inmates screamed from their cells as a fire swept through a Honduran prison, killing at least 300 inmates, authorities said Wednesday.
Lucy Marder, chief of forensic medicine for the prosecutor’s office, said early Wednesday some 356 people on the prison roster are unaccounted for among 852 prisoners.
An injured inmate is carried as he arrives at the hospital after a fire broke out at the prison in Comayagua, Honduras, a town 90 miles (140 kilometers) north of the Central American country's capital, Tegucigalpa, early Wednesday, Feb. 15, 2012. (AP)
“The majority could be dead, though others could have suffered burns, escaped or survived,” she said.
The fire broke out Tuesday night at a prison in Comayagua, a town 90 miles (140 kilometers) north of the Central American country’s capital, Tegucigalpa.
Comayagua fire department spokesman Josue Garcia said he saw “horrific” scenes while trying to put out the fire, saying inmates rioted in attempts to escape. He said “some 100 prisoners were burned to death or suffocated in their cells.”
“We couldn‘t get them out because we didn’t have the keys and couldn’t find the guards who had them,” Garcia said.
Officials are investigating whether the fire was triggered by rioting prisoners or by an electrical short-circuit, said Danilo Orellana, head of the national prison system.
(AP)
A prisoner identified as Silverio Aguilar told HRN Radio that someone started screaming, “Fire, fire,” and the prisoners called for help.
“For a while, nobody listened. But after a few minutes, which seemed like an eternity, a guard appeared with keys and let us out,” he said.
Hundreds of relatives rushed to Santa Teresa Hospital in Comayagua state to learn the fate of their loved ones, said Leonel Silva, fire chief in Comayagua.
Marder said 12 victims were treated there and nine more in the Hospital Escuela in Tegucigalpa, bringing the total of injured to 21. “That’s why we think the death toll will rise,” she said.
Marder said it would take at least three months to identify victims, some burned beyond recognition, because DNA tests will be required.
President Porfirio Lobo declared an emergency in July 2010 in nine of the 24 prisons in Honduras. His security minister at the time called the prisons “universities of crime” that had been overwhelmed by overcrowding.
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Counter-Culture Revolutionist
Posted on February 16, 2012 at 7:20amIntentional fire? The prison will not be able to identify who is missing for at least another three months (if ever). Could this be related to Fast & Furious (US arming drug cartels) and George Soros’s predicted summer of violence?
Report Post »Huguenot1732
Posted on February 16, 2012 at 2:33amI pulled a tour of duty at Soto Cano Air Base just outside Comayagua, you can’t judge the structure against US standards, they don’t meet code for a dog house. As for the criminal element in Honduras it has to do with gangs, drugs, poverty and a corrupt government; kind of like here.
Report Post »Mr.Fitnah
Posted on February 15, 2012 at 10:16pmUm… who gives a crap?
Report Post »Gumbercules
Posted on February 16, 2012 at 12:22amYou and I are the only ones who agree. If the other posters on the theBlaze knew what kind of prisoners these were, they wouldn’t have any mercy for them.
Honduras and prisons in surrounding countries are so full of gang members and the heinous crimes they commit, I have no pitty for what happened here.
Report Post »RHO1953
Posted on February 15, 2012 at 9:15pmYou can bet that some innocent people were in those jails, and people serving absurdly long sentences for petty crimes. Be civil and think a little bit before being too harsh.
Report Post »flatbroke
Posted on February 15, 2012 at 6:51pmPray for the families and victims!
Report Post »Vickie Dhaene
Posted on February 15, 2012 at 2:36pmJesus shed His blood to save all sinners. I hope they believed.
Report Post »mapgirl10
Posted on February 15, 2012 at 11:22amOMG. Hate the sin love the sinner! Being trapped in a fire has to be a nightmare.
Report Post »Walkabout
Posted on February 15, 2012 at 5:09pmAny prisoner needs to serve his just sentence if it was just. That means no prison rapes (no matter who they are) & no deaths like this.
Report Post »kim
Posted on February 15, 2012 at 11:07amthats so bad to hear that all those people had to die that way
Report Post »SBR308
Posted on February 15, 2012 at 10:38amHow can a prison burn? Was it built out of concrete or wood?
Report Post »texasfireguy
Posted on February 15, 2012 at 11:23amIts not the building thats burning, but the contents. Wood, paper, cloth, etc.
Report Post »Glock31
Posted on February 15, 2012 at 10:18ami’m not going to lose any sleep
Report Post »PATRIOTMAMA
Posted on February 15, 2012 at 9:55amHate the sin, love the sinner. This is horrible and I wish this on no one. As hard as it is, the bible teaches us to let God enact vengence for wrong doing. Maybe this was His will, I don‘t know but it’s still not something I can be happy about other humans going through something like this. Especially in Central America where you can’t be certain even half of those men even deserved to be there. There are political prisoners and deplorable disgusting conditions in the prisons down there and even though I believe in “you do the crime, you do the time” I can’t say that the legal systems down there are trust-worthy in any way.
Report Post »momrules
Posted on February 15, 2012 at 9:30amI don’t know their crimes but I imagine their terror and pain. This is horrible.
Report Post »Bum thrower
Posted on February 15, 2012 at 9:26amOver crowding? Problem solved…….
Report Post »Cavy from VA
Posted on February 15, 2012 at 12:23pmWhat a stupid idiotic comment! Sure hope nothing like this happens to anyone in your family.
TEA
Report Post »Disabledvet
Posted on February 15, 2012 at 1:43pmI am guessing they removed my post, another website that does not really want you to say what is on your mind. So much for freedom of speech,
CAVY FROM VA if yours was amied at DisabledVet then that would be no worries none of my family is in jail.
Report Post »piper60
Posted on February 15, 2012 at 9:20amIf this was an electrical problem, Holder probably has some connection to the contractor.
Report Post »DamnedRightImAHater
Posted on February 15, 2012 at 9:45amI Doubt That… But I’ll Bet that BJ Barney forced the US to write the Mortgage.
Report Post »Darla_K
Posted on February 15, 2012 at 9:16amThe conditions are probably bad, but you do the crime you do the time. It does seem that maybe they need a plan in case of a fire.
Report Post »Stoic one
Posted on February 15, 2012 at 9:10amSend eric holder to investigate. Then do not let him back in the country.
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