HONDURAS: Bereaved families gather at Honduran morgue in bid to identify the charred remains of loved ones killed in a huge prison fire

Record ID: 861917

  • Title: HONDURAS: Bereaved families gather at Honduran morgue in bid to identify the charred remains of loved ones killed in a huge prison fire
  • Date: 17th February 2012
  • Summary: FRONT PAGE OF HONDURAN PAPER
  • Embargoed: 3rd March 2012 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Honduras, Honduras
  • City:
  • Country: Honduras
  • Topics: Crime,Disasters
  • Reuters ID: LVA8DDGYWPXBAK1GHGA3GW1I7ZD3
  • Aspect Ratio:
  • Story Text: Loaded up onto trailers at night, hundreds of charred bodies from Honduras' massive prison blaze were sent to a morgue in the capital Tegucigalpa, where relatives waited expectantly on Thursday (February 16).
    With the attorney general's office putting the death toll at 359 and police officials saying some of those presumed dead may have escaped, grief-stricken family members are desperate to know if their loved ones are amongst the charred bodies.
    Many of the badly-burnt bodies are unrecognisable and some stuck on top of each other from the extreme heat of the flames. Medical teams are working around the clock to try and identify victims.
    "We have a specific time (for identifying victims), each process is taking about an hour, an hour and a half depending on the complexities of identifying the bodies. Some of them are completely charred, some are easier (to identify) and so it's possible for forensics and mobile labs that we have here to recover their dental records," said a spokesperson for the Public Ministry, Melvin Duarte.
    The fire at the detention centre, located 45 miles outside of Tegucigalpa, is considered one of the worst prison fires ever in Latin America.
    After a night of terror and uncertainty, relatives of Comayagua's inmates want answers.
    "We are desperate and anguished and in pain. We want to know what happened with our relatives and that the government gives us answers, that the ministry gives us answers. We are desperate. There is nothing we can do because the pain is eating us up inside," said one victim's relative, Vilma Mendez.
    With hours of waiting ahead of them, mattresses and tents have been set up near the morgue to deal with the expected influx of family members.
    Amongst the dozens of relatives waiting outside there was anguish and for some, a sense of resignation.
    "(I want) to see if the government will deliver the body because they cannot recognise any bodies. There are some on top of each other and I don't think they will deliver (any bodies) because you cannot identify them," said victim's father Mariano Varela.
    Government officials have expressed their condolences to the families and promised a full investigation into the fire and the dangerous overcrowding inside.
    Racked by gang violence, drug cartels and poverty, Honduras' jails are overflowing with prisoners.
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