Fire in a prison in Chile, there are 81 dead so far

Chile, December 8, 2010

According to official sources quoted by the state television, “A fire broke out in a prison in Chile, killing at least 81 people.”

The building is located on Calle Ureta Cox in San Miguel and the fire started at 5:00 am this morning, forcing the evacuation of 200 prisoners. There is no information yet on the cause of the fire. According to reports given by the authorities, “the incident had arisen from the fourth floor after a fight between prisoners.”

The fire in the jail of San Miguel is leaving already a balance of “81 dead prisoners and 200 evacuated to the courtyard.”

Jaime Concha Soto, vice Gendarmerie Force, confirmed that “there are working to deliver the identities of the dead prisoners to their families.”

Channel 7 shows images of flames and a plume of black smoke in the prison of San Miguel.

According to police sources “At the moment it is not known whether all the casualties were prisoners” and that “there are 19 injured.”