Prison Fire Kills More Than 300 in Honduras

One inmate’s reported death wish led to the immolation of more than 300 people at a Honduran prison after the apparent instigator set fire to his mattress on Wednesday in the town of Comayagua, where some 356 others were still missing after the blaze, according to The Associated Press.  —KA

AP via The Washington Post:

Outraged relatives of dead inmates tried to storm the gates of the prison Wednesday morning to recover the remains of their loves ones, witnesses told The Associated Press. The crowds were driven back by police officers firing tear gas.

Channel 5 television showed dozens of inmates’ relatives hurling rocks at officers.

The prison housed people convicted of serious crimes such as homicide and armed robbery, Danilo Orellana, director of the national prison system, told The Associated Press.

Read more

AP / Fernando Antonio

An injured inmate is carried into a hospital early Wednesday after a fire swept the prison in Comayagua, Honduras, 90 miles north of the capital of Tegucigalpa.