New York : A fire erupted at a jail in Venezuela’s northern city of Valencia, has claimed at least 68 lives, attorney general Tarek Saab said on Wednesday.
According to New York Times, the fire started during riots in the jail, with family members of inmates soon gathering outside, some grieving and others brawling with the riot police.
Reasons behind the rioting is still ambiguous, as officials had released very limited information on the incident.
Saab said that four public prosecutors were chosen to probe the incident and declare a cause behind the riots and the fire. He also confirmed that all but two victims were male.
“What we want is justice,” one relative, María Jose Rondon, said in a video posted to Twitter. “We want to know everything that is happening.”
#28Mar Más temprano, familiares de detenidos en el Comando General de #PoliCarabobo protestaban a las afueras de la institución para exigir información, luego que se registrara un motín en horas de la madrugada. Vía @CaraotaDigital. pic.twitter.com/rbSH4OhGra
— Luis Olavarrieta (@LuisOlavarrieta) March 28, 2018
Attached to a Police Station, the prison facility had a capacity of 60 detainees, as told by workers at the scene.
However, the appalling state of Venezuelan prisons is no secret, with most of them drastically overcrowded and understaffed. (ANI)