Blaze kills detainees waiting for deportation from Holland

BBC:

At least 11 people have died, and 15 are in hospital, after a three-hour blaze in a detention centre at Amsterdam's Schiphol airport.

The blaze broke out soon after midnight in the centre, which houses illegal immigrants and drug smugglers awaiting deportation from the Netherlands.

Some of the 350 prisoners at the centre said guards were slow to respond to their cries for help.

Police said they were looking for some detainees who may have escaped.

...

Speaking on Dutch television, a detainee described the growing panic.

"First they said there was no problem, and they just kept us locked up," he said.

"Our throats started hurting. We kicked, we screamed, we rang the bell of course. And then panic broke out."

A spokesman for the prosecutors' office, Martin Bruinsma, told AFP news agency the emergency services had acted "very quickly", but that cell doors could only be opened manually, one at a time.

Dutch immigration is handled by the military and has a reputation of being tough and efficient. Many deportees from the US also pass through the airport in Amsterdam on their way to their country of origin.

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