According to officials, a fire that tore through a portion of a women’s prison in Honduras on Tuesday caused at least 41 deaths. The fire was started by violent altercations between rival gangs.
According to police spokesperson Edgardo Barahona, the deadly upheaval rocked the prison approximately 25 kilometers (about 15 miles) north of the capital Tegucigalpa. He put the “preliminary” death toll at 41 women, though it was not clear if they were all inmates.
Barahona stated that five further women were hurt and sent to the hospital.
Outside the detention center, hundreds of family members of jailed women came to inquire about their loved ones. One man, who was obviously upset, remarked, “We don’t know who the victims are.”
Firefighter teams were also present, and heavily armed police and troops were observed guarding the facility.
Delma Ordonez, an attorney for inmate relatives, claims that gang members broke into a rival group’s cell and set fire to it.
She told the journalists that the fire “completely destroyed” that area of the institution.
Around 900 prisoners were housed at the Tamara CEFAS prison, according to Ordonez.
A representative for the prosecutor’s office, Yuri Mora, told AFP that while some bodies were shot, the majority of the victims perished in the fire. He stated that a probe was being conducted to find out which group carried out the original assault.
Honduran President Xiomara Castro said on Twitter she was “shocked” by the “monstrous murder of women in CEFAS by gangs in full view and tolerance of security authorities,” and expressed solidarity with grieving family members.
A state of emergency was announced, and Castro said she would hold security leaders to account for what happened.
“I will take drastic measures,” she said.
