Dutch ministers quit after immigrant deaths report

AMSTERDAM, Sep 21 (Reuters) Two Dutch ministers resigned today after a report into a fire at a detention centre which killed 11 illegal immigrants last October condemned serious safety lapses.

The long-awaited report into the blaze at the centre at Amsterdam's Schiphol airport criticised failings by the Justice Ministry and other departments and was a major embarrassment for the government just two months ahead of a national election.

''There would have been few or no victims to mourn if fire safety had received attention from the relevant authorities,'' the Dutch Safety Board said today.

Both Justice Minister Piet Hein Donner and Housing Minister Sybilla Dekker accepted responsibility for a catalogue of failings named in the report and resigned.

In a tearful address to parliament Dekker said, ''For the relatives, the survivors and the guards involved in this disaster the fire will be in their minds for ever.'' ''Given the serious consequences of the fire I will offer my resignation to the queen,'' she added.

Donner's department was blamed for inadequate safety measures at the facility and ordered to check fire safety provisions at all penal institutions within a year.

Dekker ran the Government Buildings Agency which commissioned and administered the complex, constructed in 2002.

Shortcomings in the buildings intensified the fire and made it harder for fire officers to reach those trapped, the report said.

Staff were also poorly trained for emergencies.

''This is the harshest possible verdict the council (the safety board) could have reached,'' Green Left parliamentary leader Femke Halsema told Dutch television.

''If people are locked up, if they are under the protection of the government, then the personnel must be well educated and instructed, and that did not happen,'' she added.

In August, the Dutch government granted residency to 39 of the illegal immigrants hurt in the fire and who are still suffering health problems.

Eight others, including one who is suspected of starting the fire in his cell, failed to get residency permits because they were suspected of drug trafficking and other crimes.

Investigators said a discarded cigarette or arson could have caused the blaze and ruled out any technical fault.

''SHOCKING'' OUTCOME The Dutch Refugee Council described the report's conclusions as ''shocking''.

''We blame the government for considering it more important to lock people up than ensuring security and good care for these people,'' it said in a statement.

The Dutch centre-right coalition collapsed in June after discord over immigration policy, prompting November's vote.

The fire sparked major criticism of the government's treatment of illegal immigrants and its plans to expel 26,000 failed asylum seekers as part of a wider shift to tougher immigration policies and a drive towards greater integration.

However, pollster Maurice de Hond said the fact ministers had accepted the blame for the deaths and resigned immediately meant the government could put the tragedy behind it.

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