Tegucigalpa - Hundreds of relatives of the 361 inmates who died in a prison fire in Honduras two weeks ago demonstrated on Wednesday in Tegucigalpa over the delays in handing back victims' bodies to families.
The inmates died on February 14 at the Comayagua prison when an apparent accidental fire, most probably caused by a discarded cigarette, raged through overcrowded cell blocks. Many of the bodies were burned beyond recognition.
Geovani Lopez, who was among 600 people who marched to the Supreme Court in the Honduran capital said families “could no longer bear” the situation.
Forensic experts have been unable to identify all of the corpses, prompting the families' outrage.
Government spokesperson Melvin Duarte said that 176 bodies have been identified so far, of which 93 were returned to families.
Fifty medical examiners, supported by forensic experts from Chile, Mexico and Spain, have been carrying out the identification of victims at the National Police Academy, five kilometres southwest of the capital. - Sapa-AFP