#inmates #die #prison #riots #fires #Colombia
At least 49 inmates were killed and dozens more injured early Tuesday after a fire broke out during a prison riot in southwestern Colombia, the national prison authority said.
The tragedy happened when rioting inmates set a fire to try to stop police from entering their enclosure at the prison in the city of Tulua, said Tito Castellanos, director of the National Penitentiary and Prison Institute (INPEC).
“Unfortunately, there was a riot in Pavilion 8 at Tulua Prison, which holds 1,267 inmates, with the unfortunate result that 49 people died,” Castellanos told La W radio.
He said another 30 people were “injured and affected by the fire and smoke.”
Castellanos said authorities were investigating whether prisoners set their mattresses on fire as part of an “escape attempt” or whether the riot was provoked “to cover another situation”.
He did not mention whether any prisoners had actually escaped.
A spokesman for INPEC previously told AFP that the death toll “could change.”
According to a report by Caracol Radio, more than 40 people were injured.
180 inmates in the prison section were affected by the fire.
Castellanos praised the efforts of prison guards, some of whom were injured, to control the fire and get the prisoner to safety.
He said that without their intervention “the outcome would have been worse”.
Outgoing President Ivan Duque tweeted his solidarity with the victims’ families.
“We regret the events at the prison in Tulua, Valle del Cauca,” Duque said.
“I have given instructions to clarify this terrible situation. My solidarity goes to the families of the victims.”
Deadly prison riots are not uncommon in Latin America. In Colombia’s neighboring country of Ecuador, nearly 400 prisoners have been killed in six riots since early 2021.
According to INPEC, the Colombian prison system has a capacity of 97,000 inmates but is overpopulated at around 16,000.
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