Prison holocaust in Honduras.

Hundreds of prisoners died in a prison fire in Honduras Tuesday.  The prison was over crowded, the prisoner's cries for help were initially ignored - confusion and mayhem resulted - prisoners burned to death and others died from smoke inhalation.

TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras (AP) — Trapped inmates screamed from their cells as a fire swept through a Honduran prison, killing at least 300 inmates, authorities said Wednesday.

Lucy Marder, chief of forensic medicine for the prosecutor's office, said early Wednesday some 356 people on the prison roster are unaccounted for among 852 prisoners.

"The majority could be dead, though others could have suffered burns, escaped or survived," she said.

The fire broke out Tuesday night at a prison in Comayagua, a town 90 miles (140 kilometers) north of the Central American country's capital, Tegucigalpa.

Comayagua fire department spokesman Josue Garcia said he saw "horrific" scenes while trying to put out the fire, saying inmates rioted in attempts to escape. He said "some 100 prisoners were burned to death or suffocated in their cells."

"We couldn't get them out because we didn't have the keys and couldn't find the guards who had them," Garcia said. - Source

Prayers for the dead, their relatives, and the survivors.