COMAYAGUA, Honduras: Survivors of a Honduran prison fire that killed more than 350 inmates accused guards of leaving inmates to die inside their cells and shooting at others who tried to escape the flames that burned victims alive.
Most of the prison inmates had not even been convicted of a crime before the huge blaze that grieving relatives, survivors and experts on Thursday blamed on massive overcrowding, negligence by the guards and a failed justice system.
‘It was total chaos. People were running for their lives, shots were being fired. People were being burned alive,’ said prison chaplain Reynaldo Moncada on Thursday, who arrived at the scene shortly after the conflagration broke out.
Unable to escape the inferno on Tuesday night, terrified prisoners perished yelling to be let out of their cells. (Reuters)