14 prisoners dead, 35 injured in fire in northern Mexico

14 prisoners dead, 35 injured in fire in northern Mexico

2011-05-21 05:40:57 GMT+7 (ICT)

NUEVO LEON, MEXICO (BNO NEWS) -- A fire broke out in the early hours of Friday killing 14 prisoners and injuring 35 more in a prison in northern Mexico, Milenio television reported.

At about 4:00 a.m. local time, a fire erupted in the psychiatric ward of a prison in Apodaca municipality, Nuevo Leon State. An estimated 50 prisoners were in the area was set ablaze.

Members from the State Investigative Agency arrived to the site to being an investigation. Preliminary reports indicate that the incident might have been caused by an electricity failure.

Prison guards and other staff tried to rescue the inmates but only managed to save 35 of them as the ceiling collapsed. Relatives of the prisoners said that the incident was consequence of the poor conditions of the facility.

"We asked authorities if minimum safety conditions exist at the prison as well as demanded documents of the last inspection conducted by Civil Protection agents," said Consuelo Morales, president of the human rights group CADHAC.

Morales added that CADHAC also requested a thorough investigation due to the reports received by relatives over the lack of maintenance of the Apodaca prison. So far, authorities have not addressed the incident.

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