GUATEMALA CITY—Fire swept through a crowded children’s shelter near Guatemala City early Wednesday and officials said at least 19 people died and dozens were injured.
Photos from inside the shelter showed blue sheets covering sneaker-clad bodies and bits of foam mattresses in what appeared to be a smoke-stained dormitory room.
Weeping, distraught relatives waited outside the walled facility for news of their children.
The spokesman for Guatemala’s volunteer fire departments, Mario Cruz, told the Emisoras Unidas radio station that firefighters were still extinguishing parts of the morning blaze. But he said that so far 19 bodies have been found and about two dozen people were being treated for injuries.
The national police department said 38 people had been injured and the country’s Health Ministry said that 14 were in serious condition with severe burns.
