Blaze At Peru Rehab Centre Kills 26 Patients

Fire swept through a rehabilitation clinic for drug addicts and alcoholics in Peru, killing 26 patients who were reportedly locked in to stop them from fleeing during treatment.

Several survivors said the blaze was started by two patients who wanted to break out of the private 'Christ is Love' centre in the capital Lima.

Most of the victims were thought to have died from smoke inhalation. Another 12 patients were injured in the fire.

Patient Wilmer Garcia said: "Some inmates wanted to escape and they set fire to some cloths and started throwing them at the manager's office, and then it caught fire inside."

The city's mayor, Susana Villaran , said the centre did not have a municipal licence and that "drastic action" was needed to prevent similar incidents in the country.

She told local radio: "This is a great tragedy.

"Families hand over relatives who are suffering drug and alcohol addiction so they can be rehabilitated and often they're desperate.

"These places must be supervised by the Health Ministry and municipal authorities."

Firefighters and prosecutors have opened investigations into the cause of the fire.

Like many low buildings in Lima, the centre had two storeys built in cement block and a third in wood, with metal sheets for roofing.

Fire Department commandant Antonio Zavala said the locked iron doors prevented many residents from escaping, although some got out by jumping from the burning building.

Sources at the Lurigancho local government told AFP news agency the site had been closed twice in the past over overcrowding and inspection issues.