Facility was housing nearly double its capacity
The San Miguel prison in Santiago, Chile was set ablaze by fighting prisoners Wednesday, killing 83 people and injuring at least 14 others. Relatives surrounded the prison as officials read aloud the names of prisoners who had been found alive and some threw rocks and glass bottles at police who were protecting the site. Justice Minister Felipe Bulnes told the media the prison holds 1,960 inmates, nearly twice the 1,100 inmate capacity. “We cannot keep living with a prison system which is absolutely inhumane,” President Sebastian Pinera told the press Wednesday, after admitting overcrowding in the country’s jails. “We are going to speed up the process to ensure our country has a humane, dignified prison system that befits a civilized country,” he added.