BUENOS AIRES (AP):
A FIRE set by feuding inmates raged through a cellblock at a prison south-east of Buenos Aires before dawn yesterday, killing 32 inmates and leaving two jailers injured.
All the deaths appeared to have been caused by asphyxiation as the inmates were overcome by smoke, said Justice Minister Eduardo Di Rocco of Buenos Aires province, where the prison is located.
Di Rocco said the inmates set mattresses and blankets on fire during a fight that broke out just before midnight, and the blaze quickly spread through a cellblock of the prison in Magdalena, 45 miles (60 kilometres) south-east of Buenos Aires.
It was unclear what caused the disturbance, said Di Rocco, who rejected initial reports that the fire was set to demand extended visiting hours for relatives.
"Unfortunately I must announce there were 32 deaths," said Di Rocco, adding the victims were overcome by carbon monoxide and other gases.
He said two jailers were hospitalised with injuries, including a warden who suffered a blow to the head after he rushed to the scene.
The fire was contained to a unit known as Pavilion 16 in the sprawling prison, but a kitchen area and a workshop were deliberately set on fire during the fight, authorities sad.
Di Rocco had no information on survivors other than to say 16 others in the unit would be interrogated to determine the chain of events. He said forensic experts were trying to identify the dead.
ANXIOUS RELATIVES
Some 500 relatives anxiously massed outside the prison, demanding to know about their loved ones. The fire occurred on the date Argentines traditionally celebrate Mothers' Day and many women had gone to the prison to see imprisoned relatives.
Some of the relatives briefly scuffled with police who held them back with shields before jailers calmed the crowd and allowed visitors to begin entering other areas of the prison, which houses more than 800 inmates.
Fires and riots are common in Argentina's crowded prison system. On February 10, rioting at the San Martin penitentiary in the central Argentine province of Cordoba caused eight deaths during a rampage in which a warden and two dozen guards were taken hostage.
