BRKG: "HUNDREDS KILLED" as inmate sets prison on fire in Honduras

CARACAS, Venezuela – A fire in a Honduras prison that left more than 300 inmates dead spotlights a common problem in Latin America where jails are often overcrowded, lawless and filled with gang feuds.

Danilo Orellana, director of the national prison system, told the Associated Press that survivors of the fire in the town of Comayagua said an inmate had set fire to his bedding.

"Some of his cellmates said that he screamed, 'We will all die here!' And in five minutes, everything burned," Orellana said.

PHOTOS: Deadly prison fire in Honduras
The blaze spread within minutes, killing about 100 inmates in their cells as firefighters struggled to find officials who had keys, Comayagua Fire Department spokesman Josue Garcia said.

Close to 500 people escaped from the prison and 356 are missing and presumed dead, said Hector Ivan Mejia, a spokesman for the Honduras Security Ministry."We couldn't get them out because we didn't have the keys and couldn't find the guards who had them," Garcia said.



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