Colombia: Prison Riot Fire Kills 51, Injures 30 Others

The death toll of the fire during a prison riot in Colombia rose to 51, hours after authorities reported the initial number of the victims of the tragedy on Tuesday.

Colombia's National Prison System Director Tito Castellanos initially reported only 49 deaths in the fire that sparked during a prison riot. But hours after that, the Justice Ministry retracted the figure announced by Castellanos, updating the latest number of victims to 51, according to the Associated Press.

Speaking to Radio Caracol on Tuesday, Castellanos shared that it was still unclear if all of the dead in Tuesday's tragedy were prisoners. He further noted that 30 others were also injured in the aftermath of the prison riot, per The Guardian.

Colombia's Justice Minister Wilson Ruiz said that more than 20 inmates were being treated for injuries in the hospital. He added that two prison guards also sustained minor injuries.

The identities of the victims of the fire were not tet revealed by Colombian authorities.

Colombia Prison Riot Starts Fire

Castellanos noted that the fire broke out in the penitentiary in the western Colombian city of Tulua during an attempted prison riot.

The justice minister said that the prison, where the fire broke out, is a middle-security penitentiary where inmates serve either minor sentences or finish the last few months of their incarcerations.

Ruiz noted that the fire erupted around two in the morning on Tuesday after one inmate allegedly set a mattress ablaze during a brawl. Ruiz then noted that the flames spread across the prison wing.

Residents in the area witnessed smoke and flames inside the jail after the fire go out of control and engulfed the prison block, BBC noted.

"The penitentiary personnel tried to take care of it themselves, but the flames were too strong and we had to wait for the arrival of the firefighters to control the situation," Ruiz emphasized.

Firefighters and ambulance services were alerted of the incidents, and prison guards utilized fire extinguishers and other items to control the fire.

Meanwhile, the Office of the Inspector General announced that their agency will send a special commission to Tulua.

Colombia's prisons are known to be highly overcrowded as the facilities that can house 81,000 people holds at least 97,000 according to official figures.

Colombia's President Ivan Duque and President-Elect Gustavo Petro on Prison Riot

Colombia's President Ivan Duque extended his sympathies on what happened to the prison in Tulua.

"We regret the events that occurred in the prison of Tuluá, Valle del Cauca... My solidarity with the families of the victims," Duque said. The president added that he is in contact with Castellanos and has given instructions to carry out a probe and clarify the tragedy.

"What happened in Tulua, like the massacre in La Modelo, forces a complete rethinking of prison policy in the face of the humanization of the prison and the dignity of the prisoner," Petro noted.

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written By: Joshua Summers

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