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Caribbean-Latin America |
Prison fire kills scores in Chile |
2010-12-09 |
[Al Jazeera] ![]() "It is a hugely painful tragedy," Sebastian Pinera, the president, said, as he confirmed the death toll. "The situation in our prison system cannot hold out any longer," he added, citing chronic overcrowding in the country's jails. Felipe Bulnes, the justice minister, said the prison housed 1,960 inmates, nearly twice the 1,100 capacity. Police Colonel Jaime Concha said 14 inmates were also injured in the fire, which broke out before dawn on Wednesday. "We don't yet have the identities" of the deceased inmates, he said. It was not immediately clear what caused the fire. Television footage showed flames engulfing the jail and black smoke billowing from the building. |
Posted by:Fred |