At least 28 teenage girls have died after a fire at a children's care home in Guatemala.

The fire broke out in the adolescent female wing of the state-run Virgin of the Assumption Safe Home. It then spread quickly through the site.

Although the exact cause of the blaze has not been confirmed, police said it began with a group of young people setting fire to mattresses in a bedroom, apparently during disturbances.

All those who died were aged 14 to 17.

Image: At least 19 girls died in the fire, according to police

Firefighters posted pictures on Twitter showing burnt bodies partially covered in blankets on the floor of a blackened room.


A further 25 people were injured, suffering first, second and third-degree burns, and were taken to hospitals in Guatemala City.

One of those hospitals said the most severe cases, all apparently girls, had suffered life-threatening burns.

Other minors were taken to safety.

Image: Family members waiting for news of their loved ones after the fire

Local media said 60 residents had escaped during overnight riots against alleged sexual abuse by staff and over poor food and conditions.

Some of those who got away claimed they had been mistreated or sexually abused, while others have reported that criminal gangs are active in the home.

As firefighters battled the blaze, relatives, many of them weeping and wailing with grief, gathered outside the shelter, located 15 miles (25km) southwest of the capital Guatemala City.

More than 500 people were staying in the overcrowded state-run shelter, which is only supposed to hold 400.

Image: After the fire, police were deployed at the home

It takes in youths up to the age of 18 who are homeless or victims of abuse, but has also been functioning as a juvenile detention centre.

Local media say judges were sending adolescents involved in criminal cases there, along with young people who had completed sentences at detention centres and had nowhere else to go.

Authorities have launched an investigation into the tragedy, while lawmakers in the country's parliament held a minute's silence for the victims.