Escape Attempt Leaves 49 Inmates Dead in Southwest Colombia Prison

First modification: 06/28/2022 – 13:51Last modification: 06/28/2022 – 15:41

The tragedy occurred in a pavilion of the municipal prison when the prisoners, apparently mutinous, wanted to escape, said General Tito Castellanos, director of the National Penitentiary and Prison Institute (Inpec).

“Unfortunately there is a riot in pavilion number eight of the Tuluá prison, where there are 1,267 prisoners, with an unfortunate result of 49 deaths,” the officer told La W Radio.

According to Castellanos, the inmates died in a fire caused by themselves.

There are 30 more people “injured and affected by the conflagration and smoke,” the general added, without giving a report on escaped prisoners.

It could be worst”

The authorities are evaluating various hypotheses from an “attempted escape” to disturbances caused “to cover up some situation,” according to the official report.

In the exact place affected by the flames there were 180 inmates, who set fire to mats to prevent the entry of the guard.

In reaction, the soldiers tried to control the fire with fire extinguishers and managed to get dozens of prisoners out alive.

“If not, the result would have been worse than what we currently have,” Castellanos emphasized.

Among the guard there are “several injured” who helped the prisoners to leave the pavilion.

The outgoing president, Iván Duque, reported what happened in a tweet, without mentioning a figure.

“We regret the events that occurred in the Tuluá prison (…) I have given instructions to carry out investigations to clarify this terrible situation. My solidarity with the families of the victims,” ​​the president wrote.

The Colombian prison system houses 97,426 prisoners. The overpopulation is 16,251, equivalent to 20%, according to Inpec.