11 Inmates Feared Dead in Leyte Prison Fire

Tacloban City (PNA) – At least 11 inmates are feared dead after a fire razed a regional prison in Abuyog town on Thursday.

Initial reports reaching the Leyte police provincial office disclosed that of the 1,256 inmates, only 1,245 were accounted when the Bureau of Fire Protection declared fire out late Thursday night.

Officials refused to confirm whether these missing inmates escaped the prison facility or killed by fire that hit the penal colony 3:45 p.m. on Thursday

Faulty electrical wiring was the possible cause of the fire that ignited near the toilet of building 1 of the maximum security compound. It also burned the prison’s hospital building.

Penal custodial officer Geraldo Aro, acting superintendent of Abuyog penal colony repeatedly refused phone calls when reached for interviews.

Abuyog deputy fire chief Junrey Ong said in a phone interview that they have not received reports that some inmates escaped during the fire.

Ong said that the survivors were brought to the nearby medium security building. The prison compound has seven buildings.

The investigation is ongoing to determine the cause of the fire in the maximum security building. Top officials of the BFP in the region inspected the penal colony Friday morning. (PNA) JMC/SARWELL Q. MENIANO