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Fire kills 13 prisoners during jail mutiny in Turkey

17 June 2012 04:24 (UTC +04:00)

They were killed by smoke poisoning and at least five others were hospitalized when prisoners set fire to blankets and beds in the Sanliurfa city prison, Anatolia news agency reported, citing governor Celalettin Guvenc.

The mutiny broke out at an ordinary prisonersâ€™ cell of 18 inmates, and the fire they started was brought under control before it could spread throughout the jail.

The fire broke out amid a fight between the inmates, Turkeyâ€™s Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said, relaying a survivorâ€™s account of the incident, Anatolia reported.

"I was also informed by the governor that the conditions in the cell were not suitable to accommodate that many inmates," he added.

The mutiny might have been started by inmates to protest the poor conditions and lack of air conditioning, NTV news channel had initially reported citing prison sources.

Sanliurfa prison also hosts a large political prisonersâ€™ section, which holds a lawmaker from Peace and Democracy Party (BDP), security sources told AFP.

The fire triggered a deployment of police forces to the prison, the largest in the city, as crowds gathered in front of the establishment to see their relatives in the prison.

Police blocked road access to the prison to prevent further chaos, and resorted to pepper spray to disperse angry families which demanded to be informed of the dead prisonersâ€™ identities.

An investigation was underway to determine the cause of the incident.