COMAYAGUA, Honduras (AP) -- The prisoners whose scorched bodies were carried out piece by piece Thursday morning from a charred Honduran prison had been locked inside an overcrowded penitentiary where most inmates had never been charged, let alone convicted, according to an internal Honduran government report obtained by The Associated Press.
The Honduran government report, which was sent to the United Nations this month, said 57 percent of some 800 inmates of the Comayagua farm prison north of the Central American country's capital were either awaiting trial or being held as suspected gang members.
A fire that witnesses said was started by an inmate tore through the prison Tuesday night, burning and suffocating screaming men in their locked cells as rescuers desperately searched for keys. Officials confirmed 358 dead, making it the world's deadliest prison fire in a century.
(22 images)
The Honduran government report, which was sent to the United Nations this month, said 57 percent of some 800 inmates of the Comayagua farm prison north of the Central American country's capital were either awaiting trial or being held as suspected gang members.
A fire that witnesses said was started by an inmate tore through the prison Tuesday night, burning and suffocating screaming men in their locked cells as rescuers desperately searched for keys. Officials confirmed 358 dead, making it the world's deadliest prison fire in a century.
(22 images)
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Blanca Flores, wife of dead inmate Oscar Soto, cries outside the prison in Comayagua, Honduras, Wednesday Feb. 15, 2012. A fire started by an inmate late Tuesday tore through the prison killing 358 inmates, said Supreme Court Justice Richard Ordonez, who is leading the investigation. AP / Estbean Felix
Soldiers and forensic workers load into a truck bodies of inmates killed during a fire inside the prison in Comayagua, Honduras, Wednesday Feb. 15, 2012. AP / Estbean Felix
Police officers escort surviving inmates from the prison in Comayagua, Honduras, Wednesday Feb. 15, 2012. AP / Estbean Felix
Relatives of dead inmates Gabriel and Cristobal Padilla sit outside the prison in Comayagua, Honduras, Wednesday Feb. 15, 2012. AP / Estbean Felix
Blanca Flores, third from left, wife of dead inmate Oscar Soto, cries outside the prison in Comayagua, Honduras, Wednesday Feb. 15, 2012. AP / Estbean Felix
Relatives of inmates stand outside the prison in Comayagua, Honduras, Wednesday Feb. 15, 2012. AP / Estbean Felix
Inmates' relatives stand outside a prison after a fire broke out inside in Comayagua, Honduras, 90 miles (140 kilometers) north of the capital, Tegucigalpa, Honduras, early Wednesday Feb. 15, 2012. AP / Fernando Antonio
Inmates' relatives stand outside a prison after a fire broke out inside in Comayagua, Honduras, 90 miles (140 kilometers) north of the capital, Tegucigalpa, Honduras, early Wednesday Feb. 15, 2012. AP / Fernando Antonio
A relative of one of the prisoners that was a victim of the Comayagua, Honduras Prison fire cries outside the prison. ZUMA24.com / Alex Perez
Relatives of La Granja penitentiary inmates gather outside the prison to receive some information on their loved ones. ZUMA24.com / Gustavo Amador
Police and soldiers, bottom, and journalists, top, take cover during clashes after a deadly prison fire in Comayagua, Honduras, 90 miles (140 kilometers) north of the capital, Tegucigalpa, Honduras, Wednesday Feb. 15, 2012. AP / Fernando Antonio
Inmates' relatives clash with police outside a prison after a deadly fire in Comayagua, Honduras, 90 miles (140 kilometers) north of the capital, Tegucigalpa, Honduras, Wednesday Feb. 15, 2012. AP / Fernando Antonio
Soldiers run during clashes with the relatives of inmates after a deadly prison fire in Comayagua, Honduras, 90 miles (140 kilometers) north of the capital, Tegucigalpa, Honduras, early Wednesday Feb. 15, 2012. AP / Fernando Antonio
Soldiers run during clashes with the relatives of inmates after a deadly prison fire in Comayagua, Honduras, 90 miles (140 kilometers) north of the capital, Tegucigalpa, Honduras, early Wednesday Feb. 15, 2012. AP / Fernando Antonio
Burned bodies lay covered inside a prison after a fire broke out in Comayagua, Honduras, 90 miles (140 kilometers) north of the capital, Tegucigalpa, Honduras, Wednesday Feb. 15, 2012. AP / Fernando Antonio
Forensic workers load into a truck bodies of inmates killed during a fire inside the prison in Comayagua, Honduras, Wednesday Feb. 15, 2012. AP / Fernando Antonio
A forensic worker stands next to bags with bodies of inmates killed during a fire inside the prison in Comayagua, Honduras, Wednesday Feb. 15, 2012. AP / Fernando Antonio
Soldiers stand in front of forensic workers filling bags with inmate bodies killed when a fire broke out inside the prison in Comayagua, Honduras, Wednesday Feb. 15, 2012. AP / Fernando Antonio
Leonardo Aguilar, an inmate who survived a deadly fire, cleans up inside the prison perimeter in Comayagua, Honduras, Honduras, early Thursday Feb. 16, 2012. AP / Estbean Felix
Relatives of inmates read through a list of the inmates who survived a deadly prison fire published in a newspaper outside the prison in Comayagua, Honduras, early Thursday Feb. 16, 2012. AP / Estbean Felix
Inmates who survived a deadly prison fire carry garbage as they clean up the prison perimeter in Comayagua, Honduras, early Thursday Feb. 16, 2012. AP / Estbean Felix
An inmate who survived a prison fire stands inside the nursing area of the prison in Comayagua, Honduras, Honduras, early Thursday Feb. 16, 2012. AP / Estbean Felix
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