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2:09
51 inmates die in Colombian prison
This Tuesday General Tito Yesid Castellanos, director of the National Penitentiary and Prison Institute (Inpec), reported that 51 people have died and another 30 were injured as a result of a fire in the Tuluá prison in Colombia.
“At around 2 in the morning a situation arose between those deprived of liberty, a fight that was later turning into a riot. The guard enters to control, they set fire to some mattresses that unfortunately caused the death of 51 people, 49 at the time and two in the hospital, "he explained.
In addition, he pointed out that the majority died from inhalation of toxic gases and added that there are 24 more who are recovering in a hospital in Tuluá.
Castellanos also highlighted that in pavilion number 8 of the Tuluá prison, in the department of Valle del Cauca, there are around 1,267 prisoners and there was an attempted riot that ended in this tragedy. They are still being assisted by the fire department and the police who are investigating the causes of the riot.
“We are talking about medium security prisoners, but we are still identifying the victims. Some of the prison guards have been injured, but we have no casualties among them. The fire has been controlled and at this time we do not register any escaped prisoners,” reported the general.
Similarly, the president of Colombia, Ivan Duque and the newly elected Gustavo Petro did not take long to express their reactions through their respective Twitter accounts. Duke published that:
“I am in contact with General Tito Castellanos and I have given instructions to carry out investigations to clarify this terrible situation. My solidarity with the families of the victims.
For his part, Petro sent his condolences to the relatives of those killed in the fire, as well as expressed the need for a diametric change in the country's prison policy. In addition, he added that:
“The Colombian state has viewed prison as a space for revenge and not for rehabilitation. What happened in Tuluá, like the massacre in La Modelo, forces a complete rethinking of prison policy in the face of the humanization of the prison and the dignity of the prisoner.”
