Inmates set deadly fire in Honduras prison

COMAYAGUA, Honduras, Feb. 15 (UPI) -- Inmates protesting conditions at a prison in Comayagua, Honduras, started a fire in which more than 100 prisoners died, officials said.

Fire Department Lt. Joshua Banegas said, "A number greater than 100 people in the modules ... suffocated and burned in the cells" of five modules during the fire Tuesday, La Tribuna in Tegucigalpa reported Wednesday.

Reports of 200 inmates dying in the detention center fire could not be confirmed because some prisoners could have fled from the blaze, La Tribuna said.

Federal investigators were investigating the cause of the fire, Banegas said.

The penal farm houses about 800 inmates, officials said.

Firefighters brought the fire under control about 40 minutes after it was set Tuesday night, La Prensa reported.

Fire chief Col. Leonel Silva said rescue efforts were delayed because gunshots were heard.

Injured inmates were taken to a hospital in Comayagua, officials said. Two inmates with extensive burns on their bodies were transferred to Tegucigalpa University Hospital in the Honduran capital.

La Prensa said the uprising was the latest in a wave of prisoner protests over living conditions at the facility.