Jail blaze kills 8 inmates in Brazil

Guard fled with keys; victims were trapped inside, police say

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updated 6:20 p.m. ET Jan. 2, 2008

SAO PAULO, Brazil - A jail fire killed eight inmates who could not be rescued because the guard had left with the keys, Brazilian police said Wednesday.

Officers had to enter a neighboring house and break through the jail's wall to free 14 surviving inmates Tuesday night in Rio Piracicaba, a town of 14,000 without a fire brigade, Minas Gerais state police said.

The officers "did not have the keys to open the cells," according to the police statement.

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An unidentified relative of one of the inmates told Globo TV that "the jail guard left with the keys."

The New Year's Day fire likely began when a lamp short-circuited and ignited mattresses. Some inmates squeezed into the cell's bathroom, but others were apparently asphyxiated, police said.