Fire in a prison in Neuquén: one prisoner died and another is in serious condition

One inmate died and another is hospitalized in serious condition after the ward in which they were housed in Detention Unit No. 11 of the city of Neuquén caught fire. The causes that triggered the incident are still being investigated. The episode occurred this Tuesday afternoon, around 6 pm, in the establishment located in the Industrial Park of the provincial capital. It is the prison with the largest number of inmates in the entire province, where several riots took place in demands for better building conditions and overcrowding.

Image: LM of Neuquén

In this context, the inmates of Pavilion No. 6 began with the burning of mattresses and other elements in protest, but the fire got out of control and two of the prisoners were hit by the flames. One of the inmates, identified as Víctor Herrera, died while the other, Maximiliano Mérgola, was transferred in serious condition by SIEN medical personnel to the Castro Rendón regional hospital and his condition is critical: he has 47 percent of the body affected by the burns.

The Neuquén media LM of Neuquén said that the fatal victim was serving a sentence of 6 years and 8 months in prison for a violet robbery of a family of Añelo, which occurred in June 2021. For his part, the seriously injured man is serving a sentence of 11 effective imprisonment for a homicide in the capital of Neuquén, which happened in the early morning of July 9, 2019.La investigation is headed by the Judge of Execution, Raquel Gass and awaits the arrival of the Homicide Prosecutor, Eugenia Titanti. The monitoring of what happens in Unit 11 is in charge of the member of the Superior Court, Germán Busamia.

Image: LM of Neuquén

Original source in Spanish