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  • Oct 28th, 2005
  • Comments Off on Eleven killed in fire at jail at Amsterdam airport
A fire killed 11 people and injured 15 at a detention centre at Amsterdam's Schiphol airport housing suspected drugs traffickers and illegal immigrants early on Thursday, Dutch police said.

The cause of the fire, which began shortly after midnight and took several hours to bring under control, was not immediately known.

A Justice Ministry spokesman said police were investigating allegations by detainees that guards had initially not taken reports of a fire seriously, causing panic among the prisoners.

"We were kept locked up. Our throats were hurting. We were kicking and screaming," an unnamed prisoner told Dutch television.

The fire raged through about a dozen two-person cells in the complex of prefabricated units.

Copyright Reuters, 2005


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