Dutch airport fire kills 11 detainees

A FIRE roared through a prison complex at Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport yesterday, killing 11 illegal immigrants awaiting deportation and injuring 15 other people.

The nationalities of the dead were not immediately known.

“They were illegal aliens waiting to be extradited to their countries of origin,” said Immigration Service spokesperson Martin Bruinsma.

“We are still busy trying to confirm their identities.”

The cause of the fire was being investigated, said border police spokesperson Rob Stenakker.

Officials declined to comment on reports that one of the prisoners may have started the fire and that the cells were unsafe.

An unknown number of detainees escaped during the blaze, but three were captured.

A prisoner told the Dutch television station NOS that guards initially did not take prisoners’ warnings of a fire seriously and told them nothing was wrong.

“They didn’t open the door. They kept us locked up. Our throats started hurting. We were kicking and screaming,” said the detainee, who was not identified.

About 350 prisoners were being held in the complex when the fire broke out.