Chile Prison Fire Kills 81 People: San Miguel Prison Fire

by MROliver | December 8, 2010 at 06:29 am

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A Fire at the San Miguel Prison in Chile Has Killed 81 People, Most of Them Inmates

This is not the prison where Joran Van Der Sloot is being held however, as he is at the Miguel Castro Castro prison.

The fire at San Miguel reportedly broke out after a riot and now 81 people are dead and dozens more are injured.

It started in one of the towers and the high death count is largely due to the fact that although the prison was built to hold 1,000 inmates, at the time of the blaze there were just under 2,000 being kept here.

The cause of the fire is not known at this time, and it is not clear if any of the inmates will be able to be returned to the prison or if they will have to be housed elsewhere.

Families of the inmates have begun gathering outside San Miguel to find out the fate of their loved ones.

The mayor told the families that the only ones affected by the fire were the prisoners on the fourth floor of Tower 5. All others were safe, he said. A list of the victims would be released to the families later Wednesday, he added.