At Least 12 Dead From Fire in Sacatepéquez, Guatemala

At least 12 people died Tuesday as a result of a fire reported in a house in the municipality of Magdalena Milpas Altas, belonging to the department of Sacatepéquez, located in the central region of Guatemala.

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The Departmental Municipal Fire Department and Volunteers reported that, according to the preliminary report, the victims died due to the inhalation of carbon monoxide caused by the flames.

Among the possible causes of the fire is the cooking of corn for the sale of tortillas in the house located in zone 5 of Magdalena Milpas Altas, which was quickly consumed due to the fragility of the structure.

The spokesman for the Departmental Municipal Fire Department, Cecilio Chacaj, said that "upon arriving at the residence, they worked to control the fire and rescue the family; however, it was confirmed that they were dead."

Sacatepéquez Damage to the perimeter wall in the Verapaz neighborhood, zone 4 of San Antonio Aguas Calientes, Sacatepéquez; the Damage Assessment and Needs Analysis -EDAN- is coordinated.

Credits: Fernando López, Departmental Delegate of CONRED.

The member of the Volunteer Fire Department, Julio Álvarez, said it was complicated to face the fire due to the difficult access of the fire engines given the number of vehicles, and the narrowness of the site.

In this sense, emergency vehicles have been mobilized to the place of the events, as well as an investigation team of the National Civil Police and the Public Prosecutor's Office.

After the identification of the bodies, authorities indicated that six of the 12 victims were minors, ranging in age from 4 months to 14 years old. The remains of the children were taken to the morgue of the National Institute of Forensic Sciences (Inacif).