16 killed in El Salvador fire

SAN SALVADOR - At least 16 minors died and a further 24 were injured in a fire at a youth detention centre in the Salvadoran town of Ilobasco, El Salvador’s police said Wednesday.

The authorities did not mention the likely causes of the early morning fire at the facility in Ilobasco, about 25 km from San Salvador, which holds inmates belonging to gangs like Mara Salvatrucha and its main rival, Mara 18.

According to the Salvadoran Red Cross, the injuries included burns of up to 70 percent of some of the bodies.