Inmates in a prison in southeast Turkey set beds and blankets alight, starting a fire that killed 13 prisoners, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and other officials said Sunday.

Erdogan said the fire affected a ward housing 18 inmates in the prison in the mainly-Kurdish city of Sanliurfa. He said some inmates set their bedding on fire following a fight that broke out inside the ward late on Saturday.

It was not immediately clear if the victims had died of burns or from asphyxiation.

Erdogan said five other inmates were hospitalized for smoke inhalation. None was in serious condition.

A pro-Kurdish legislator, imprisoned for alleged links to an outlawed Kurdish rebel group, was staying in a separate ward and was not affected by the fire, the region's governor, Celalettin Guvenc told reporters.

Guvenc said authorities had launched an investigation into the incident, including into possible delays by authorities or firefighters in responding to the fire. (AP)

<관련 한글 기사>

교도소 화재! 13명 사망 ‘참극’

터키의 한 교도소에서 화재가 발생해 무려 13명에 달하는 재소자들이 목숨을 잃었다고 AP통신이 10일(현지시간) 보도했다.

터키 당국이 밝힌 바에 따르면 남동부 지역에 위치한 산리우르파라는 도시에 위치한 교도소에 불이 나, 18명의 수감자 중 13명이 사망했다고 한다. 살아남은 다섯 명은 병원으로 이송되어 현재 치료를 받고 있다.

화재가 일어난 원인은 교도소에서 전날 저녁 발생한 난투극 이후 일부 수감자들이 자신의 침구에 불을 붙였기 때문이라고 추정되고 있다.

당국은 자세한 내막을 알기 위해 조사 중이라고 밝혔다.