Argentine prison fire kills 29 inmates

A fire apparently set as part of an escape attempt swept through an Argentine prison cellblock and killed at least 29 inmates, authorities said Monday.

The fire broke out late Sunday in one of the cellblock complexes of a maximum security prison in the central province of Santiago del Estero, said Ricardo Daives, the province's justice minister.

Another 10 people were hospitalized for smoke inhalation and other injuries, Daives told the independent news channel Todo Noticias.

Daives said inmates apparently set the fire in a bid to distract guards as part of plan to break out of the prison.

"Parts of the cellblock were set on fire and that produced this whole situation," he said.

The minister said mattresses and other materials inside one of the seven prison units swiftly caught fire, spewing dense smoke. The entire prison houses more than 400 inmates but Daives said other units were not affected.

Prison officials said none of the inmates managed to escape.

Riot police fired rubber bullets and tear gas to restore calm after about 200 relatives tried to break through barricades blocking entrance to the penitentiary, the government news agency Telam reported.

Broadcast television footage showed the relatives trying to tear down gates manned by riot police.