Prison Fire Kills Hundreds Of Trapped Inmates

At least 358 inmates have been killed after a huge fire ripped through a prison in central Honduras, according to officials.

The blaze tore through the National Prison of Comayagua on Tuesday night.

It is not yet known whether it was started by rioting or an electrical fault, although witnesses have been quoted as saying it was started by an inmate.

Comayagua fire department spokesman Josue Garcia described "hellish" scenes while trying to put out the fire, adding that some 100 prisoners were "burned to death or suffocated in their cells".

He said many had been trapped because the guard who had the key to their cells could not be located.

Incredibly, around 475 inmates managed to escape.

Hundreds of distraught relatives have clashed with police and stormed the prison trying to find their loved ones.

Officials have said it is possible that some inmates were able to escape prison during the blaze and are now on the loose.

The prison held around 850 inmates and is located around 140km north of the country's capital, Tegucigalpa.

Latin American jails are notoriously overcrowded, particularly in the poor Central American states where gang violence and drug trafficking are rife.

The country's 24 overcrowded penal facilities officially have room for 8,000 inmates, but actually house 13,000.

The fire is one of the worst prison blazes in Latin American history.