103 Inmates Die as Fire Guts Prison Cellblock
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An early morning fire at an overcrowded prison in San Pedro Sula consumed a cellblock housing gang members, killing 103 and injuring 25, officials said.
“We woke up with our clothes and our beds in flames,” inmate Jose Mauricio Lopez told a radio station from his hospital bed.
The fire was sparked by an air conditioner short-circuit in a cellblock occupied by 186 prisoners, Police Commissioner Wilmer Torres said. Some prisoners were burned, others died from smoke inhalation.
Firefighters brought the blaze under control, but it consumed a large part of the jail. No escapes were reported.
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