An inmate died, 23 were injured, and one escaped but later surrendered to the police when a fire apparently caused by faulty electrical wiring hit the Antipolo City Jail Thursday evening.
A report from Supt. Chitadel Gaoiran, spokesperson of the Philippine National Police Regional Office 4-A, identified the fatality as 84-year-old Cesar Organo, who has pending rape charges.
Police believe Organo suffered from suffocation after he failed to immediately get out of his cell when the fire broke out. He was declared dead on arrival in a nearby hospital, police added.
The 23 other inmates who were hospitalized sustained minor injuries. Police said all of them have been returned to their cells after receiving medical attention.
Police said the escapee, Michael Zymon Dig, who was charged with two counts of robbery, surrendered to authorities around 10:20 a.m. yesterday.
According to arson investigators, the blaze occurred around 7:45 p.m. at Cell 10 of the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology facility.
The fire immediately spread to other cells, causing an uproar among the 1,670 detainees.
Eventually, the cells were opened and the inmates were told to seek a safe and secured place within the compound while firefighters put out the fire.
Arson investigators said the blaze was declared under control at 8:41 p.m. and out at 8:55 p.m.
Jail Chief Insp. Xavier Solda, BJMP spokesperson, said the damaged cells have been subjected to rehabilitation while its occupants were temporarily transferred to the Cainta and Cardona Municipal Jails in Rizal.
“We would like to assure the public that all of the detainees at Antipolo City Jail were locked inside their cells contrary to information of mass escape circulating on social media,” Solda said. (with reports from Nel Andrade and Chito A. Chavez)