Guatemala's volunteer fire department has reported 19 people dead and 25 injured following a fire at an orphanage in the Las Anonas area of San José Pinula, Guatemala.A spokesman for the volunteer firefighters told local radio station Emisoras Unidas that 11 girls from the orphanage have been transferred to the San Juan de Dios general hospital, with nine in critical condition and three undergoing surgery, reports the AP.A further six children were transferred to the Roosevelt Hospital with first and second degree burns.According to Leonel Dubón of the Children's Refuge charity, there had already been calls by the Guatemalan Human Rights Commission ( PDH ) for the orphanage to be closed. </s> By JOSE LOPEZ and SONIA PEREZ D. Associated Press SAN JOSE PINULA, Guatemala - The death toll in a fire at a troubled youth shelter in Guatemala rose to 31 Thursday as a dozen more girls died at hospitals overnight and details began to emerge of a tragedy sparked by angry, neglected youths seeking to flee terrible conditions. Nineteen girls were found burned to death or dead of smoke inhalation in the rubble of a dormitory fire fueled by foam mattresses Wednesday.

Start the conversation, or Read more at KOLD-TV Tucson. </s> Firefighters in Guatemala say that at least 19 people have died in a blaze at a children's care home about 25km (15 miles) south-east of the capital, Guatemala City.

About 25 others were injured in the fire at the Virgen de Asuncion shelter in San Jose Pinula.

It is unclear what caused the blaze.

On Tuesday, police intervened after a riot broke out at the home. About 60 children escaped. Some allege they have been mistreated or sexually abused.

Oscar Franco, a spokesman for the volunteer firefighters, told local media: "At least 25 people were injured and transferred to hospitals and we have confirmed 19 bodies."

One police officer said the fire had started with burning mattresses and that the other minors were being taken to safety.

Anxious relatives have gathered outside the shelter.

The children who fled on the eve of the fire said it was due to poor conditions and mistreatment following the riot, which left the facility damaged.

Local reports say the capacity of the home is 400, but that many more children were living there at the time.

The shelter takes in children up to the age of 18 who have suffered abuse or trafficking, or have been abandoned.

But local media say the shelter was also functioning as a juvenile detention centre, to which judges were sending adolescents involved in criminal cases. </s> At least 19 people were killed in a fire on Wednesday in a Guatemalan home for abused children, a spokesman for firefighters said.

The Virgen de Asuncion home is in the municipality of San Jose Pinula, some 25km southwest of the capital Guatemala City and houses children of up to 18-years-old.

Oscar Franco, spokesman for the voluntary firefighters, told reporters that 19 people had died and at least 25 had been injured in the blaze.

Guatemalan media said that, on Tuesday, about 60 minors had escaped from the home, which takes in children who have been the victims of abuse and trafficking or abandoned.

Local media also said 540 children live in the home, despite the fact it only has the capacity to hold 400. </s> Image copyright AFP Image caption A victim of the fire is brought to a hospital in San Jose Pinula

Nineteen teenage girls have died in a blaze at a children's care home in Guatemala, officials say.

About 25 other people were injured in the fire at the Virgen de Asuncion shelter in San Jose Pinula, about 25km (15 miles) south-east of the capital, Guatemala City.

Police said the blaze may have been started by some of the residents.

On Tuesday, police officers intervened after a riot broke out at the home. About 60 children escaped.

Some alleged they had been mistreated or sexually abused.

'Over-capacity'

Oscar Franco, a spokesman for the volunteer firefighters, told local media: "At least 25 people were injured and transferred to hospitals and we have confirmed 19 bodies."

All those who died were aged between 14 and 17.

The fire ripped through the facility in minutes.

Image copyright Reuters Image caption Anxious relatives gathered outside the shelter

Image copyright Reuters Image caption Following the fire, police secured the site, which had previously seen a riot

Nery Ramos, the head of Guatemala's national police, said the fire was started by a group of young people at the shelter.

Firefighters battled to contain the flames as desperate family members arrived at the scene to try to find their loved ones.

After the blaze, images showed burned bodies covered by blankets lying in one of the blackened rooms.

The children who fled on the eve of the fire said it was due to poor conditions and mistreatment following the riot, which left the facility damaged.

The UN children's fund in Guatemala said on Twitter it "condemns the tragedy", adding: "These children and adolescents must be protected".

Local reports say the capacity of the home is 400, but that many more children were living there at the time.

The shelter takes in children up to the age of 18 who have suffered abuse or trafficking, or have been abandoned.

But local media say the shelter was also functioning as a juvenile detention centre, to which judges were sending adolescents involved in criminal cases.

A deadly fire at a children's home in Mexico in 2009 left 49 dead. </s> At least 19 people died in a fire at a shelter for abused children in Guatemala on Wednesday, firefighters said. The cause of the blaze was not immediately known, nor was the number of children among those killed. Commanders have “informed us that they have already counted 19 people deceased” in the Virgin of the Assumption Safe Home located in San Jose Pinula, a village just to the east of the capital, the fire services spokesman, Mario Cruz, told reporters.

Another 25 people were injured, suffering burns of various degrees. They were taken to state hospitals in Guatemala City. Initial reports suggested that some of the children and teenagers in the shelter had protested overnight against poor food and treatment by staff. The center, supervised by state social welfare authorities, hosts minors under age 18 who are victims of family maltreatment or found living on the street. It has been the target of multiple complaints alleging abuse, and several children have run away. The country office of the UN children’s fund UNICEF said on its Twitter feed it “condemns the tragedy” and emphasized: “These children and adolescents must be protected.” </s> Family members wait for news of their loved ones after a fire broke at the Virgen de Asuncion home in San Jose Pinula, on the outskirts of Guatemala City, Guatemala March 8, 2017. At least 20 people -- all under the age of 18 -- were found dead Wednesday at the scene of a fire that broke out in a troubled orphanage near Guatemala City.

Start the conversation, or Read more at Fox News. </s> SAN JOSE PINULA, Guatemala (AP) — A fire swept through the female section of a crowded children’s shelter near Guatemala City early Wednesday and officials said at least 22 girls died and dozens more were injured.

Photos from inside the shelter showed blue sheets covering sneaker-clad bodies and bits of foam mattresses in what appeared to be a smoke-stained dormitory room.

Weeping, distraught relatives waited outside the walled facility for news of their children. Shelter personnel gave them pieces of paper to write down their children’s names so they could try to locate them.

The head of Guatemala’s social welfare agency, Carlos Rodas, said youths at the shelter started rioting Tuesday in an effort to escape. Complaints about abuse and living conditions at the overcrowded shelter have been frequent.

Then on Wednesday, about 9 a.m., “Some of the adolescents lit their mattresses on fire,” Rodas said. “We don’t shirk responsibility, we accept it, but we can’t get those lives back.”

Julia Barrera, spokeswoman for the prosecutor’s office, said late in the day that at least 20 children and teenagers perished. Two hospitals said they received 41 injured girls between the ages of 13 and 17, many with second- and third-degree burns. Dr. Carlos Soto, director of Roosevelt Hospital, said some of the injured had life-threatening burns.

A short time later, Sharon Avila, the spokeswoman for Roosevelt Hospital, said the 21st victim had died there. Late Wednesday, the Hospital San Juan de Dios reported another death, raising the toll to 22.

Rodas said the shelter had an official capacity of 500, but was housing at least 800 youths.

The federal government said in a statement that it had fired the shelter’s director. It also said that before the fire the government had asked that youths with criminal records housed at the shelter be moved to other facilities, but that had not occurred.

A 15-year-old girl being treated for minor injuries at Roosevelt Hospital said the uprising followed rumors of an escape attempt. Some boys, or even young men who were still housed at the center after turning 18, entered the girls’ area, she said. She said she fled to her dormitory’s roof with others fearing the boys would attack them.

Early Wednesday morning the fire began. “I saw the smoke in the place. It smelled like flesh,” the girl said.

Mario Cruz, spokesman for volunteer firefighters, said the fire appeared to have started in one of the girls’ living areas and spread to another dormitory.

The government-run shelter, known as the Virgin of the Assumption Safe Home, is in a rural area outside the capital. The campus is surrounded by trees and a 30-foot wall. It houses at-risk children who were victims of abuse as well as youths who completed sentences at youth detention centers and had nowhere else to go.

President Jimmy Morales’ office said there would be three days of mourning and issued a statement confirming at least 15 deaths and said the cause of the fire was under investigation. The president held a moment of silence to mark the tragedy during a previously scheduled event to commemorate International Women’s Day.

Attorney General Annabella Morfin said children in a protective situation should not be housed with children who have problems with the law and called for an investigation of those responsible.

Jorge de Leon, Guatemala’s human rights prosecutor, said in a statement that at least 102 children had been located after escaping from the shelter and more had managed to flee. De Leon said younger children fled the shelter because they were being abused by the elder children.

“According to what they say, the bigger kids have control and they attack them constantly,” de Leon wrote. “They also complain that food is scarce and of poor quality.”

He called on authorities “to evaluate whether it is appropriate to have these different groups concentrated in one place.”

In 2013, a 14-year-old girl was murdered at the facility. Investigators said the girl was strangled by one of the other residents. </s> At least nine minors died from burns after a fire at a shelter in Guatemala for children who had been victims of violence, firefighters said on Wednesday.

The Virgen de Asuncion home is in the municipality of San Jose Pinula, some 25 kilometers southwest of the capital Guatemala City and houses children of up to eighteen years old.
The death toll at the fire at an orphanage in San José Pinula, Guatemala, rises to at least 38 children.