A 39-year-old prisoner has died in a fire in his cell at Hasselt Prison in Limburg Province. In another fire, at Dendermonde Prison in East Flanders, an inmate and a prison officer were injured.
The fire at Hasselt Prison broke out at around 1:30am on Wednesday. The man that died in the fire was alone in his cell. The exact circumstances surrounding the cause of the fire are still being investigated.
In a statement, the Prisons Service said that “As soon as they saw the smoke a member of staff started to extinguish the fire. The Fire Service was at the scene quick and continued to bring the situation under control. Despite this swift action the prisoner died”.
As a precautionary measure two prison officers were take to hospital. They were soon discharged and able to return home.
Cell fire at Dendermonde Prison
Elsewhere, there was also a fire in a cell at the new prison at Dendermonde in East Flanders. An inmate and a prison officer were taken to hospital. Neither of them are in a life-threatening condition and the prison officer will possibly be allowed to return home later today.
In a statement, the Prison’s Service said that "There was a lot of smoke. The Fire Service was at the scene quickly. Due to the thick smoke and the fact that the prisoner was lying unconscious against his cell door, it was not initially possible to free him from his cell”.
The 2 incidents are not linked.