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  1. Fire broke out Tuesday night at a prison in Comayagua, a town 90 miles north of the Central American country's capital, Tegucigalpa. The prison holds Click to Watch Video
  2. More than 300 killed in Honduras prison fireClick to Watch Video
An injured inmate is carried as he arrives at the hospital after a fire broke out at the prison in Comayagua, Honduras

An injured inmate is carried as he arrives at the hospital after a fire broke out at the prison in Comayagua, Honduras, early Wednesday, Feb. 15, 2012. (AP Photo/Fernando Antonio)

Fire broke out Tuesday night at a prison in Comayagua, a town 90 miles north of the Central American country's capital, Tegucigalpa. The prison holds

Fire broke out Tuesday night at a prison in Comayagua, a town 90 miles north of the capital of Honduras, Tegucigalpa. The prison holds about 800 inmates. (CNN/TELEVICENTRO)

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Official: 272 confirmed dead in Honduras jail fire

300 inmates not accounted for

Updated: Wednesday, 15 Feb 2012, 4:03 PM CST
Published : Wednesday, 15 Feb 2012, 5:40 AM CST

  • FREDDY CUEVAS,Associated Press

TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras (AP) — A Honduran fire chief says his crews were forced to wait outside as a deadly fire swept through a prison because guards thought they had a riot on their hands.

Photos: Deadly prison fire in Honduras

Fire Chief Leonel Silva says rescuers waited for half an hour listening to gunfire while screaming prisoners burned to death or suffocated locked in their cells.

Officials have confirmed 272 dead. Authorities initially said that more than 300 of 852 inmates were not accounted for.

The fire was set by an inmate about 11 p.m. local time Tuesday, according to witnesses.

 

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