Prison fire kills 25 convicts in Brazil

BRASILIA, Aug 23 (Reuters) Twenty-five convicts died today in a fire set during a gang fight in a prison in central Brazil, a local government official said.

The incident is a setback for authorities who launched a public security plan on Monday to crack down on endemic violence in Brazil, including construction of 160 new prisons.

Several inmates in the prison at Ponte Nova, about 120 km from the Minas Gerais state capital Belo Horizonte, had cornered members of a rival gang and set fire to their mattresses, a security spokeswoman said.

Police and firefighters tried to put out the blaze but 25 convicts were killed by the flames or fumes, she said.

The prison has capacity for about 90 inmates but held 173, Globo news agency said. Brazil's prisons are notoriously overcrowded and bloody riots occur often.

REUTERS AM KP1858