Tulua prison. Photo: Twitter @RedDeApoyoSIC
At least 49 prisoners died and dozens were injured during an attempted escape from a prison in Tuluá, a municipality in southwestern Colombia.
The fact It happened in the early hours of this Tuesday. with a fight that degenerated into a riot. Some prisoners set the mattresses on fire, causing a fire that spread across much of the medium-security prison in the Valle del Cauca, 92 kilometers from Cali, the regional capital.
The director of the National Penitentiary and Prison Institute (Inpec), General Tito Castellanos, told radio W that the tragedy took place in Hall 8, “with a sad result: 49 people died from the fire and another 30 injured affected by the conflagration. “
The Tuluá prison houses 1,267 inmates, added the director of the INPEC.
“My solidarity with the families of the victims who lost their lives after a riot that caused a fire in the early hours of today. Investigations are already underway to clarify the facts”, complained the Minister of Justice of Colombia. Wilson Ruiz Orejuela. , on his Twitter account.
According to the first versions, the fire broke out after one in the morning and although the firefighters of Tuluá arrived quickly to control the fire, many of the victims died from inhalation of smoke.
“There was a call at almost 1:20 am (06:20 GMT) about a possible mutiny (…) There has been a fire of many mattresses, and so far about 50 people are been transferred to treatment centers, “Tuluá fire brigade spokesman Marco Antonio Orozco told Blu Radio.
President Iván Duque, on a trip to Portugal, stated on his Twitter account that he was in contact with the director of INPEC.
“I have given instructions to carry out investigations to clarify this terrible situation. My solidarity with the families of the victims,” said the president.
With information from EFE
Source: Clarin
