The fire started as a result of a fight between two prisoners.
Fire in a Colombian prison: the media reports about fifty dead” />
A fire broke out in the Colombian prison of the city of Tolua, which took the lives of 51 people. This was reported by CNN, citing Colombia's Minister of Justice Wilson Ruiz.
According to the source, the cause of the tragedy was a conflict between two prisoners. During the fight, one of the men set a mattress on fire, causing a fire that spread to the entire prison wing. Because the prison was overcrowded, it was not possible to evacuate people in time.
Ruiz said that the staff tried to put out the flames themselves, but it was too strong and had to wait on firefighters. During this time, 24 people, including both guards and prisoners, suffered burns and various degrees of damage. Unfortunately, 51 people died. It became one of the most tragic accidents in the modern history of Colombia.
The Minister of Justice of the country said that the prison in Tolua is a medium-security penitentiary facility where Prisoners are serving either minor prison terms or the last few months of the assigned term. On average, most Colombian prisons are 20% overcrowded, he said, while the prison in Tolua was only 17% overcrowded. Unfortunately, this did not help to avoid tragic consequences.
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