An attempted prison break went horribly wrong in Valencia, Venezuela.
Al Jazeera reports that on early Wednesday morning, incarcerated people in the Polices Detention Centre set mattresses on fire in an attempted prison break. As a result of the flames, up to 70 people, including 66 men and 2 women visitors, were reported dead from burns and asphyxia, or loss of oxygen, from the intensity of the smoke in such an enclosed space.
Following the fire, relatives of those who were incarcerated gathered outside the local police station to express their outrage. Police quickly turned to their tear gas to disperse the scene.
According to the Washington Post, the anger arises from the lack of information about those who died from the incident. There isn't a list of names of people who died. Additionally, families were forbidden from seeing the bodies (which were mostly unrecognizable, given the nature of the incident) until they were extinguished.
Additionally, many families were outside the prison during the fire, waiting to visit and bring food to those inside.
Secretary-general of Carabobo Jesus Santander said an officer was shot following the fire. The government added they'll support family members of those died by providing funeral services, according to a press statement.
