The death toll from a fire Friday at a Mexican day care center in the northwestern state of Sonora has risen to at least 31, the government reported Saturday via the state-run news agency.
At least 28 people were injured in the 3 p.m. blaze in Hermosillo, the official Notimex news agency said. Originally, the number hurt was reported to be more than 100. At least 12 of the injured have burns over 70 percent of their bodies, La Tribuna newspaper reported, citing Health Secretary Raymundo Lopez Vucovich. Some of the children, who were between ages 1 and 5, will be treated at Shriners Hospitals for Children in Sacramento, California, the medical facility and Mexican officials said. Shriners Hospitals is a health care system that gives children free treatment for burns, spinal cord injuries, orthopedic conditions, and cleft lip and palate problems, according to its Web site. It admits children under 18. The fire started in a warehouse next door to the one-story concrete building that housed the ABC Daycare, news reports said. The day care had the capacity to house 190 children, but only 135 were inside at the time of the fire, Notimex said. Mexican President Felipe Calderon sent the director of the Institute of Social Security, Daniel Karam Toumeh, to Hermosillo to supervise the care of the children and their families. The president also ordered the nation’s attorney general to investigate the blaze.
