Honduras prison fire aftermath : Honduran officials confirmed that 358 people, most of them inmates died when a fire tore through an overcrowded prison, marking it the world’s deadliest prison fire on record.

COMAYAGUA, Honduras / NationalTurk – Honduran officials confirmed Wednesday that 358 people died when a fire tore through an overcrowded prison, making it perhaps the world’s deadliest prison fire ever recorded.

Inmates’ relatives gather at a Honduran prison after a fire started by an inmate tore through the overcrowded facility, burning and suffocating screaming men in their cells as rescuers desperately searched for keys. Survivors told investigators the unidentified inmate yelled, “We will all die here!”

Honduras Prison Fire : Terrible scenes in a country ravaged by murder and poverty

Ravaged by violent street gangs, brutal drug traffickers and rampant poverty, Honduras has the highest murder rate in the world, according to the United Nations. Honduras has one of the world’s highest rates of violent crime, and its overcrowded, dilapidated prisons have been hit by deadly riots and fires in recent years. Officials have repeatedly pledged to improve conditions, only to say they don’t have sufficient funds.

With 856 inmates packed into barracks, the farm prison in the Comayagua province north of the Honduran capital was at double capacity, announced Supreme Court Justice Richard Ordonez, who is leading the investigation for Honduras prison fire.

Ordonez told the Associated Press the fire started in a barracks where 105 inmates were bunked, and only four of them survived.

Honduras Prison Fire : Attempted riot turns into disaster at Comayagua prison

The fire, which was started by a prisoner, tore through the prison, burning and suffocating screaming inmates in their barracks mostly during their sleep as rescuers and prison guards desperately searched for keys to unlock the doors. Prisons in the United States and other more developed nations have locks that can be released automatically in an emergency.

The local governor, who was once a prison employee, told reporters that an inmate called before the blaze broke out and screamed: “I will set this place on fire and we are all going to die!”

Comayagua Gov. Paola Castro stated she called the Red Cross and fire brigade at once. But firefighters claimed they were kept outside for half an hour by guards who fired their guns in the air in the emerged confusion, thinking they were facing a riot or a mass breakout attempt.

Officials have long had little control over conditions inside many Honduran prisons, where inmates have largely unfettered access to cellphones and other contraband.

Prisoners heard one inmate scream ‘ We will all die here! ‘

Survivors told investigators that the unidentified inmate yelled “We will all die here!” as he set fire to his bedding late Tuesday night in the prison in Comayagua, 50 miles north of Tegucigalpa. The lockup housed people convicted of serious crimes such as homicide and armed robbery, but also people awaiting trial. Comayagua was built in the 1940s for 400 inmates.

“We couldn’t get them out because we didn’t have the keys and couldn’t find the guards who had them,” Comayagua fire department spokesman Josue Garcia admitted after the tragedy.

Other prisoners were freed by guards but died from the flames or smoke as they tried to flee into the fields surrounding the facility, where prisoners grew corn and beans on a state-run farm.

By the time Red Cross volunteer Jose Manuel Gomez arrived, all he could do for many was gather up their remains.

“We’re placing them into bags in parts because when we grab them, they disintegrate,” he said.

Overcrowded and outdated prison becomes graveyard for Honduran prisoners

Outside the prison, family members of the immolated inmates gathered, some crying and some demanding justice.

“We want to see the body!” shouted Juan Martinez, whose son was reported dead. “We’ll be here until we get to do that.”

Survivor Ever Lopez, 24, who was serving time for homicide, said he was sleeping when the fire broke out about 11 p.m.

“I saw the smoke from Cell Block 6 and it spread throughout the prison,” he stated. “The other prisoners and I broke through the roof with our bare hands and fled. Thank God I’m alive.”

National prison system director Danilo Orellana defended the guards’ decision to keep firefighters out as flames lit up the night sky.

“The guards first thought they had a prison break, so they followed the law saying no one could enter, to prevent unnecessary deaths,” he announced.

Honduran President Porfirio Lobo said on national TV that he had suspended the country’s top penal officials, including Orellana, and would request international assistance in carrying out a thorough investigation.

“This is a day of profound sadness,” Lobo stated.

The highest official death toll in a prison fire previously was 322 at the Ohio Penitentiary in Columbus in 1930.

[adrotate banner=”26″] [adrotate banner=”22″]