Police used teargas to turn people away from the morgue after they demanded the return of the remains of loved ones

This article is more than 8 years old

This article is more than 8 years old

Hundreds of relatives of inmates who burned or suffocated to death when a fire raged through a Honduran prison forced their way into a morgue on Monday to demand the remains of loved ones.

The group, mostly women, entered the morgue, broke into a refrigerated container and opened at least six body bags, a spokesman for the prosecutors, Melvin Duarte, said.

Police used teargas to chase the people from the morgue, Duarte said. He said no one was injured during the confrontation in Tegucigalpa, although at least one woman fainted.

The fire in a crowded prison last week in the city of Comayagua killed at least 359 prisoners. There were 852 inmates at the prison built to hold less than half that number.

Duarte said the crowd got upset after seeing bodies being laid out on the street and then burst into the morgue.

"The bodies were about to be loaded on to a truck to be transferred to the medical school to continue with the process of identification," Duarte said.

Hundreds of people have been waiting outside the morgue for their relatives' remains since the fire a week ago. A team of forensic doctors from across Latin America has so far identified 32 bodies. Of those, 16 have been turned over to their families.