Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Police used tear gas to disperse crowds desperate for news of loved ones

Relatives of 68 people who died when a fire broke out at a police station in the Venezuelan city of Valencia have demanded answers as to what happened.

The blaze reportedly started after prisoners set fire to mattresses in an attempt to break out on Wednesday.

The United Nations has called on the Venezuelan authorities to carry out a speedy investigation and to provide reparations to victims' families.

The fire is one of the deadliest incidents in Venezuela's prisons.

The office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights said in a statement that "where applicable" those responsible should be brought to justice.

On Wednesday, anguished relatives had gathered in front of the police station demanding information about their loved ones.

They were dispersed by police firing tear gas.

Chief prosecutor Tarek William Saab said 66 men and two women, who had been visiting the cells overnight, were killed in the blaze. He also said that an investigation would be launched "immediately".

Venezuela's worst prison tragedies:

August 2017: A riot in police holding cells leaves 37 dead in Amazonas state

March 2017: 14 bodies are found in a mass grave in a jail in Guarico state

September 2015: A blaze in a prison in Tocuyito prison kills 17

January 2013: More than 60 inmates are killed in a prison riot in Barquisimeto

What happened at the police station?

The circumstances surrounding the fire have not been officially confirmed.

The association Una Ventana a la Libertad (A Window on Freedom), which monitors jail conditions, said its reports showed a police officer had been shot in the leg by a detainee and that shortly afterwards mattresses in cells were set ablaze and the fire quickly spread.

Mr Santander did confirm one police officer had been shot.

Rescuers reportedly broke through walls to try to free those trapped by the blaze.

Nearly all of those who died were inmates but at least two women who were visiting at the time were also killed, Mr Saab said.

Some of the victims burned to death, others died of smoke inhalation.

What has the response been?

Angry relatives gathered outside the detention centre and clashed with police as they sought information about loved ones.

Image copyright AFP Image caption Relatives complained they had been given no information

Image copyright Reuters

Aida Parra, who said she had last seen her son the day before, told the Associated Press news agency: "I don't know if my son is dead or alive. They haven't told me anything."

Dora Blanco told local media: "I am a desperate mother. My son has been here a week. They have not given any information."

The government has set up an inquiry.

Carabobo state governor Rafael Lacava expressed his condolences, adding: "A serious and profound investigation has been initiated to find the causes and those responsible for these regrettable events."

What's the state of Venezuela's penal system?

Facilities are notoriously overcrowded, with violence and deadly riots common.

The country has struggled to accommodate its prisoners amid an ongoing economic crisis, leading to the use of temporary facilities such as the one in Valencia.

'De facto prisons'

By Daniel García Marco, BBC Mundo, Caracas

Many police stations in Venezuela are being used as de facto prisons. Their holding cells were built for 30 to 40 people but often hundreds are crammed inside awaiting trial or transfer to a proper jail.

Detainees can sometimes spend years there. When I visited such a police station several months ago in Caracas, I saw dozens of men sharing a very small cell. Their relatives came twice a day to deliver them some food which the prisoners shared among themselves.

Carlos Nieto of Una Ventana a la Libertad says that about 45,000 people are currently locked up in 500 police stations across the country. He says that a disaster like the one that happened in Valencia could "happen anytime, anywhere and [the next one] could even be worse".

Inmates are supposed to be held for only 48 hours in police holding cells.

Una Ventana a la Libertad says some police facilities are overfilled at five times their capacity.

The organisation says that 65 people died last year in temporary cells due to violence, disease or malnutrition.

Last month inmates at a different prison in Carabobo took a number of prisoners and guards hostage in another riot.</s>Caracas: At least 68 people were killed in a fire at a prison in Venezuela’s Carabobo state, according to a government official.

“The Public Prosecutor’s Office informs the public that in the face of the terrible events that took place at the General Command of Carabobo, where 68 people died in the wake of a fire, we have appointed four prosecutors to clarify these dramatic events,” Chief State Prosecutor Tarek Saab tweeted on Wednesday.

The Scientific, Penal and Criminal Investigation Service Corps (Cicpc) as well as the Prosecutor and the director of the Carabobo Police Jose Aldama, are investigating to identify the cause of the incident, reports Efe news.

The blaze reportedly started after prisoners set fire to mattresses in an attempt to break out on Wednesday. Relatives surrounded the station after news of the fire broke. The situation soon turned violent, leading the 20 state police officers who were guarding the station to launch tear gas.

Last month inmates at a different prison in Carabobo took a number of prisoners and guards hostage in another riot.</s>VALENCIA, Venezuela—Venezuela’s chief prosecutor reported late Wednesday that 68 people, nearly all of them prisoners, were killed by a fire that erupted inside a police station, which townspeople said followed a riot by detainees being held there.

Attorney General Tarek William Saab said on his official Twitter account that four prosecutors had been named to determine what happened at the police headquarters in Valencia, a town about 100 miles west of Caracas.</s>VALENCIA, Venezuela — Venezuela’s chief prosecutor says 68 dead after riot and fire at police station.

Copyright 2018 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.</s>Officials say 68 people are dead after a riot and fire erupted Wednesday night at a Venezuelan police station, the BBC reports.

The blaze at the Valencia city station was reportedly sparked by prisoners setting mattresses alight in a jailbreak attempt. Many are believed to have died due to smoke inhalation.

Tarek Saab, the chief state prosecutor, said an investigation into the incident will begin immediately.

Outside the station, officers in riot gear reportedly used tear gas to disperse a crowd of angry relatives gathered to see if their loved ones had survived.

Photos shared by prison watchdog A Window to Freedom show detainees in grisly conditions being taken out of the station on stretchers.

“I don’t know if my son is dead or alive!” Aida Parra told the Associated Press, adding that she last saw her son when she delivered him food one day earlier. “They haven’t told me anything.”

Notoriously overcrowded and lawless, Venezuela’s prisons sporadically see clashes between inmates and officers, which are sometimes deadly. Drugs, weapons and gangs are reportedly pervasive behind bars.</s>08:30 (GMT+4) A fire at the Venezuelan prison in the northern state of Carabobo killed 68 people overnight, including two female visitors, the chief prosecutor said Wednesday, Sputnik reported.

Attorney General Tarek Saab appointed four prosecutors to investigate the tragedy, which caused suffering to dozens of families.

"The result of preliminary inquiries suggests that 66 men and two female visitors have died," Saab said on Twitter.

Earlier, local media suggested that the alleged cause of the blaze was riot attempt. Venezuelan prisons are reportedly extremely overcrowded and filled with weapons. Riots leaving dozens dead are not unusual.

In August, clashes between rioting prisoners and security forces reportedly killed 37 inmates in the southern Venezuelan state of Amazonas,

In 2016, the explosion occurred on the visiting day in jail of San Juan de los Morros, in Guarico State. At least one person was killed and 22 others were injured.

06:45 (GMT+4) A fire at a police station in the Venezuelan city of Valencia, in Carabobo State, has killed at least five prisoners in holding cells, BBC News reported.</s>At least 68 people have been killed at a Venezuela police station, where an apparent riot and escape attempt resulted in a fire. The casualties have been confirmed by the country's prosecutor general.

The fire took place in the General Command of the Carabobo Police in the city of Valencia. After the fire, dozens of relatives gathered outside the station, trying to break in to get answers, reportedly forcing police to intervene.

Venezuela Prosecutor General Tarek William Saab has confirmed the incident in a series of tweets, saying 68 people were killed in "a presumed fire," including 66 men and two female visitors. He said four special prosecutors have been appointed to investigate the incident.

The rioting reportedly started early Wednesday morning. Venezuelan officials have not shared any versions of the events, but witnesses reported hearing gunfire from inside the police station before plumes of black smoke started rising from it. Relatives say many of the victims died from burns and smoke inhalation.</s>VALENCIA, Venezuela — The latest on riot and fire inside police station in Venezuela (all times local):

Venezuela’s chief prosecutor says 68 people died during a fire that erupted in a police station Wednesday after a riot involving prisoners.

Venezuelan Attorney General Tarek William Saab says on his official Twitter account that four prosecutors have been named to determine what happened in Valencia, a town about 100 miles from Caracas.

Local officials had earlier confirmed only that there had been fatalities. They said they were working to determine the exact number and declined to provide any estimates “out of respect for the families.”

Distraught relatives clamouring for information about detained loved ones clashed with police outside the station during the day. Officers used tear gas to disperse the crowd.</s>Nearly 70 people have died after fire swept through the cell area inside a police station in Venezuela.

Nearly 70 people have died after fire swept through the cell area inside a police station in Venezuela.

The country’s chief prosecutor, Attorney General Tarek William Saab, said that nearly all the dead were prisoners. He said two women who were staying overnight at the station were also killed, but did not provide any further details.

It was one of the worst jail disasters in a country where human rights groups complain about bad prison conditions. A fire at a prison in the western state of Zulia killed more than 100 inmates in 1994.

Local authorities in Valencia had confirmed earlier only that there were fatalities, and said they were working to determine an exact number. They said they were not providing any estimates “out of respect for the families”.

A woman kicks at a riot police shield as relatives of prisoners wait to hear news about their family members imprisoned at a police station where a riot broke out, in Valencia, Venezuela (Juan Carlos Hernandez/AP) Angry relatives who gathered outside the station said dozens of detainees had been kept in squalid conditions at the station and expressed fear that their loved ones were dead. Dozens of men and women demanding to know if their loved ones had survived clashed with police officers in riot gear. Police used tear gas to disperse the crowd.

“I don’t know if my son is dead or alive!” cried Aida Parra, who said she last saw her son a day before, when she went to deliver him food. “They haven’t told me anything.”

Shortly after that a fire broke out, with flames growing quickly as the blaze spread to mattresses in the cells, it said. Rescuers apparently had to break a hole through a wall to free some of the prisoners inside.

Photos shared by the group showed prisoners being taken out on stretchers, their limbs frozen in awkward positions as skin peeled off. A Window to Freedom’s director, Carlos Nieto Palma, said officials should be held accountable for failing to address deteriorating conditions in police station jails.

The group said overcrowding has become common throughout the country as detainees are kept long past customary brief holding periods before being sent to other larger jails before trial or freed. “It’s grave and alarming,” Mr Nieto Palma said, adding: “What happened today in Carabobo is a sign of that.” Outside the police station, some relatives buried their hands in their faces as tears streamed down their cheeks.

Others had to be held up with the support of friends and family as they collapsed in despair. Still others wept quietly and clutched their hands in prayer. Nearby, National Guard troops wearing bullet-proof vests and carrying rifles across their backs walked in and out of the station. Fire trucks and ambulances stood outside, and unused stretchers leaned against a wall. Opposition lawmaker Juan Miguel Matheus demanded that the pro-government leader of Carabobo state inform relatives about what had happened.

“The desperation of relatives should not be played with,” he said. Clashes between prisoners and guards are not uncommon in Venezuela. Inmates are frequently able to obtain weapons and drugs with the help of corrupt guards and heavily armed groups control cellblock fiefdoms.</s>At least 68 people have been killed following rioting and a fire at a police station in Venezuela.

Forensic doctors are on the scene in the city of Valencia, in the state of Carabobo, to determine the exact number of fatalities, authorities said.

A police officer was shot in the leg and is in a stable condition in hospital.

Distraught relatives gathered outside the police station were dispersed with tear gas.

News of the horror broke late on Wednesday night when authorities released the information.

Chief Prosecutor Tarek William Saab tweeted: “The State Prosecutor’s Office guarantees to deepen investigations to immediately clarify what happened in these painful events that have left dozens of Venezuelan families in mourning."

Venezuelan prisons are notoriously overcrowded and filled with weapons and drugs. Riots leaving dozens dead are not uncommon.

State official Jesus Santander said the state of Carabobo was in mourning after the incident in the city of Valencia.

"Forensic doctors are determining the number of fatalities," Santander said

He added that a policeman was shot in the leg and was in a stable condition and firefighters had extinguished the flames.

Many Venezuelan prisons are lawless and have been for decades.

Prisoners often openly wield machine guns and grenades, use drugs and leave guards powerless.

"There are people who are inside those dungeons (...) and the authorities do not know they exist because they do not dare to enter," said Humberto Prado, a local prisons rights activist.
An attempted prison break and subsequent rioting and fires at a police station in Valencia, Carabobo State, Venezuela, results in at least 68 people dead. Two women who were visiting inmates are thought to be among the dead. Prosecutor General Tarek Saab says an investigation into what has happened would begin immediately.