At least 19 girls dead in fire at Guatemala children's shelter: police

[Judi Lynn]

Wed Mar 8, 2017 1:43pm EST
By Sofia Menchu


SAN JOSE PINULA, Guatemala (Reuters) - At least 19 girls were killed in a fire on Wednesday in a government-run home for abused teens, Guatemalan police said, with local media reporting that dozens of residents had escaped the overcrowded home following a melee overnight.

A crowd of relatives, many of them wailing with grief, gathered outside the Virgen de Asuncion home for children up to 18 years old, in the municipality of San Jose Pinula, some 25 kilometers (15 miles) southwest of the capital Guatemala City.

Nery Ramos, the head of Guatemala's national police, said at the scene that 19 people, all girls, were confirmed dead.

"This is a painful situation," he said, adding that the fire was started by a group of young people at the center.

Plagued by Latin America's highest rates of child malnutrition and street gangs like the Mara Salvatrucha that often prey on minors, Guatemala has long been a traumatic place to grow up. Conditions in public institutions are often dismal with widespread overcrowding.

More:
http://ca.reuters.com/article/topNews/idCAKBN16F243-OCATP?rpc=401&feedType=RSS&feedName=topNews&rpc=401&pageNumber=2&virtualBrandChannel=0&sp=true

[shenmue]

1. ...

[muriel_volestrangler]

2. An autistic 12 yo raped, gangs tattooing the children - no wonder they tried to escape

It was a hellhole.

[Judi Lynn]

3. Unbelievable treatment of kids who would be in such wildly different circumstances

had they only been born into US suburban families. Seems like a different planet.

[Judi Lynn]

4. DEATH TOLL RISES TO 34 IN FIRE AT YOUTH SHELTER IN GUATEMALA

Mar 9, 5:13 PM EST

DEATH TOLL RISES TO 34 IN FIRE AT YOUTH SHELTER IN GUATEMALA
BY JOSE LOPEZ AND SONIA PEREZ D.
ASSOCIATED PRESS


SAN JOSE PINULA, Guatemala (AP) -- A blaze that killed at least 34 girls at a shelter for troubled youths erupted when some of them set fire to mattresses to protest rapes and other mistreatment at the badly overcrowded institution, the parent of one victim said Thursday.

Officials said they are still investigating who started the fire Wednesday at the long-criticized shelter on the outskirts of Guatemala's capital. It houses troubled and abused boys and girls as well as juvenile offenders.

Nineteen victims were found dead at the scene, and 15 more succumbed one by one to their grisly injuries at hospitals in Guatemala City. Several more girls were fighting for their lives, some with severe burns over more than half their bodies.

The fire started when someone ignited mattresses in a dormitory that held girls who had been caught the day before during a mass breakout attempt, authorities said.

More:
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/L/LT_GUATEMALA_FIRE?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2017-03-09-17-09-12

[Judi Lynn]

5. Guatemala: At least 37 dead after fire in shelter for abused teenagers

They wanted to protest their poor living conditions and sexual abuse: During a riot, teenagers in a Guatemalan shelter lit matresses. The fire spread quickly.

Date 10.03.2017
Duration 01:04 mins.

- video -

http://www.dw.com/en/guatemala-at-least-37-dead-after-fire-in-shelter-for-abused-teenagers/av-37891072

[Judi Lynn]

6. DEATH TOLL IN GUATEMALA FIRE RISES TO 39 GIRLS

Mar 11, 6:14 PM EST

DEATH TOLL IN GUATEMALA FIRE RISES TO 39 GIRLS
BY SONIA PEREZ D.
ASSOCIATED PRESS


GUATEMALA CITY (AP) -- A key Guatemalan official was ordered not to leave the country Saturday as the death toll rose to 39 girls in fire that began when mattresses were set ablaze during a protest by residents at a youth shelter.

Authorities continued searching over the weekend for answers in the disaster that has put a spotlight on alleged failings in Guatemala's child protective services.

The head of the protective services agency, Carlos Rodas, was ordered not to leave Guatemala by a judge on Saturday while investigations into the blaze continue, according to prosecutors' spokeswoman Julia Barrera.

Authorities at the Roosevelt Hospital where many of the girls were taken for treatment of their burns said Saturday that another girl had died. Nineteen of the adolescents perished at the scene of the Wednesday inferno and another 20 died later in local hospitals.

More:
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/L/LT_GUATEMALA_FIRE?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2017-03-11-18-14-39

[Judi Lynn]

7. Guatemala President Admits State Responsibility in Shelter Fire

Guatemala President Admits State Responsibility in Shelter Fire



People scream "We want justice" during a vigil for victims of the horrific fire. | Photo: Reuters

Published 11 March 2017 (8 hours 30 minutes ago)


As many outraged Guatemalans are calling for his resignation over the fire, Morales said that the state wasn't paying attention.

Guatemalan President Jimmy Morales acknowledged Friday the responsibility of the state in a tragic fire days before in a government-run shelter for abused teens which left at least 37 children dead and dozens injured.

“We are sad, yes, totally sad, and convinced that these things should not happen and convinced that the responsibility as a country can not be thrown to anyone else, but ourselves,” Morales said in a press conference from the country’s second largest city, Quetzaltenango.

“It is truly sad and regrettable that dozens of children can die in a situation like what happened and that this can happen again in all places where we, as the state, are not paying attention.”

More:
http://www.telesurtv.net/english/news/Guatemala-President-Admits-State-Responsibility-in-Shelter-Fire-20170311-0006.html