A blaze leaves 19 dead

Guatemala children's home blaze 'leaves 19 dead'

Firefighters say that 19 children have died in a blaze at a children's care home. About 25 others were injured in the fire at the Virgen de Asuncion shelter about 25 km south-east of Guatemala City.

There is no information about what caused the blaze but one police officer said the fire started with burning mattresses in one of the bedrooms.

Yesterday, the police intervined after a riot and about 60 children escaped. Some of them alleged they had been mistreated or sexually abused.

The UN children's fund in Guatemala said on Twitter it condemns the tragedy at the Virgin of the Assumption Home. That these children and adolescents must be protected.

The capacity of the home is 400 but there were many more children in the home.

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

The shelter was also a juvenile detection centre where judges were sending adolescents involved in criminal cases.

It's not fair for those children to be tragically condamned in a children's care home with disastrous conditions. They have to be protected by law, not sexually abused.