Venezuela: fire at prison kills 17, injures 11

Baku. 1 September. REPORT.AZ/ A fire at a prison in northern Venezuela has killed 17 people and injured another 11, prosecutors said today. 

The fire at the Tocuyito facility in Carabobo state overnight left nine men and eight women dead, the prosecutor’s office said. No cause of the fire was given pending a probe led by three investigators. The injured were being treated at a hospital in Valencia, the state capital. 

Report informs, National Penitentiaries Ministry source told Agency France Press the blaze was located in unit 1J, and apparently caused by a short circuit. Venezuela’s crowded prisons are among Latin America’s deadliest. Government plans to improve conditions have not been met, rights groups say. Many prisoners awaiting trials see years go by before they ever see a judge.