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Honduras Builds First Wind Farm

... the 51 Gamesa G87 wind turbines sit on top of the Cerro de Hula and Izopo mountains, each generating up to 2 MW of power. The turbines are scheduled to be in full spin by the end of this month.

By Angeli Duffin
IWhile renewable energy is on the rise throughout the world, there are still a few firsts to be had. One of which goes to Honduras, which this month is firing up its very first wind power plant, the new 102-megawatt capacity Cerro de Hula Wind Farm. And the country didn’t mess around with this foray into wind: According to project contractor Iberdrola Engineering, Cerro de Hula is the largest wind power plant in Central America. The wind farm is owned by Mesoamerica Energy, which has been involved in a number of renewable energy projects throughout Central America. Iberdrola teamed up with Gamesa on the US$200 million “turnkey” construction contract, which comes with two years of maintenance services.

Comayagüela Fire Damage Pegged at US$7.9 Million

Honduras Weekly
The fire that consumed nearly the entire marketplace in Comayagüela was the largest ever in that zone. Although there were major fires there in 1982, 1996, and 2009, this was, by far, the most destructive and widespread. The blaze, which began at around 11:45 pm (some reports say 12:30 pm) in the Colón market and later spread to the adjacent markets of San Isidro, San Miguel, and parts of Álvarez and Galindo, raged for five hours before firefighters managed put out the flames. By then, more than 5,000 vendor stalls had been destroyed. Total property and merchandise losses are estimated at more than Lps 150 million (US$7.9 million). Some 20,000 people are believed to be affected. While no deaths have been reported, a dozen people were injured, suffering from burns and fractures.

Fire Engulfs Comayagüela Marketplace Sector

Honduras Weekly
A massive fire broke out this afternoon at around 12:30 pm in Comayagüela just across the river from Tegucigalpa. The fire, which as of this afternoon, continues to rage and spread, is located in the busy San Isidro, Álvarez, and Colón markets of the capital of Honduras' twin city. The San Isidro market provides space for 920 vendor stalls; Colón, 782; and Álvarez, 100 -- most, if not all, constructed of wood. A huge cloud of black smoke can be seen from miles away. The Fire Department, which sent 10 firefighting units to the scene, has reportedly had difficulty reaching the area due to the narrow, traffic-jammed one-way streets overcrowded with pedestrians and wall to wall stalls. The marketplace is located only a short distance from the Ministry of Education.

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Honduras Asked for US Firefighters at Midnight

Editor's Note: In response to the following article (titled "Honduran Officials Neglected to Ask US Firefighters for Help") published yesterday, Stephen Posivak, who is the Public Affairs Counselor at the US Embassy in Tegucigalpa, called Honduras Weekly to point out an error. Mr. Posivak noted, "JTF-Bravo received an official request for fire support assistance at the prison via the commander of Honduras’ Soto Cano Air Base just before midnight on Tuesday, February 14. Prior to deployment, a JTF-Bravo liaison on the ground was informed by Honduran authorities that the fire was contained, and fire support assistance was no longer required. This notification came within thirty minutes of the initial request." The fire started at about 10:50 pm on Tuesday.

Honduras Weekly
Captain Candace Allen, a spokesperson for United States Southern Command's Joint Task Force-Bravo (JTF-Bravo) at Soto Cano Air Base in Honduras said yesterday that the reason US military firefighting and search and rescue teams from the base were not dispatched to fight the fire at the National Penitentiary in Comayagua on Tuesday night is that no one asked. Although JTF-Bravo did respond by providing equipment and supplies such as surgical masks, flashlights, and glow sticks, the unit could not mobilize its firefighters without a request from a Honduran official and a chain of command order. There was no request from Governor Paola Castro of the department of Comayagua, nor from Mayor Carlos Miranda of the municipality of Comayagua, nor from the city's fire chief, nor from the administrator of the prison, nor from the director of the national prison system, Danilo Orellana, nor from President Porfirio Lobo.

Honduran Officials Neglected to Ask US Firefighters for Help

Cell 6 Inmate May Have Set Prison Fire

Honduras Weekly
The Governor of Honduras' department of Comayagua, Paola Castro, today said that her office received a telephone call at approximately 11:10 pm last night from an inmate at the National Penitentiary of Comayagua saying, "I am going to set fire to this [prison] and we are all going to die. We will burn... all of us will burn together." Governor Castro, a former prison employee, said she immediately called the Red Cross and the Comayagua fire brigade. The inmate has been identified as Elvin José Colindres Ramírez. According to the Associated Press, the director of the national prison system, Danilo Orellana, stated that survivors of the blaze had told investigators that a fellow prisoner in Cell 6 had set fire to his mattress and yelled, "We will all die in here." The spokesperson for the National Police, Héctor Iván Mejía, confirmed that he had information suggesting that the fire was deliberately started by an inmate. "Apparently it was a person who was inside who produced the fire..."

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Willful Negligence Alleged in Honduras Prison Fire

Honduras Weekly
Human rights groups in Honduras today demanded an investigation into the fire that killed 358 people at the National Penitentiary of Comayagua, alleging that negligence by prison guards and officials was behind the deaths. "We see that there was negligence in not opening the [cell] gates. There needs to be an exhaustive investigation undertaken. The keys [to the cells] are nowhere to be found," said Andrés Pavón, president of the Committee for the Defense of Human Rights in Honduras (Codeh). According to Leonel Casco of the Ministry of Justice and Human Rights, he is aware of a prison official who instead of opening the gates "threw down the keys and ran away". The newspaper El Heraldo reported that one prisoner, Rubén García, said, "When the fire started we called out to the people with the keys but they didn't want to open [our cells]."

Negligence Alleged in Honduras Prison Fire

Honduras Weekly
Human rights groups in Honduras today demanded an investigation into the fire that killed 358 people at the prison in Comayagua, alleging that negligence by prison guards and officials was behind the deaths. "We see that there was negligence in not opening the [cell] gates. There needs to be an exhaustive investigation undertaken. The keys [to the cells] are nowhere to be found," said Andrés Pavón, president of the Committee for the Defense of Human Rights in Honduras (Codeh). According to Leonel Casco of the Ministry of Justice and Human Rights, he is aware of one prison official who instead of opening the gates "threw down the keys and ran away".

Fire in Overcrowded Comayagua Prison Kills 377

You wouldn't have congestion like that in a dog pound, it's so bad -- and very little ventilation, so I can imagine a lot of the guys died from smoke inhalation.
-Ron W. Nikkel, Prison Fellowship International

Honduras Weekly
Some 377 people died of smoke inhalation or were burned to death at the penitentiary in Comayagua following a fire that broke out at the overcrowded facility last night at about 10:50 pm. According to Hector Ivan Mejia, a spokesperson for Honduras' Ministry of Security, said that at least 377 inmates are missing and presumed dead, and approximately 448 are believed to have escaped. Mr. Mejia said that 21 people have been injured. The exact cause of the blaze has not been confirmed, but early reports suggest the possibility of a short in an electrical circuit or that the fire may have been deliberately set by rioting prisoners. Some survivors told investigators that they saw one of the prisoners set fire to his mattress. The director of the national prison system, Danilo Orellana, told the Associated Press that the prison housed felons convicted of murder, armed robbery, and other serious crimes.

Prison Fire in Comayagua Kills 358 People

The tragic deaths of hundreds of inmates, one of the worst incidents of its kind in the region, are ultimately the result of overcrowding and poor prison conditions, two longstanding problems in Honduras.
-José Miguel Vivanco, Human Rights Watch

Honduras Weekly
Some 358 people died of smoke inhalation or were burned to death at the penitentiary in Comayagua following a fire that broke out at the overcrowded facility last night at about 10:50 pm. According to Hector Ivan Mejia, a spokesperson for Honduras' Ministry of Security, said that at least 356 inmates are missing and presumed dead, and approximately 475 are believed to have escaped. Mr. Mejia said that 21 people have been injured. The exact cause of the blaze has not been confirmed, but early reports suggest the possibility of a short in an electrical circuit or that the fire may have been deliberately set by rioting prisoners. Some survivors told investigators that they saw one of the prisoners set fire to his mattress. The director of the national prison system, Danilo Orellana, told the Associated Press that the prison housed felons convicted of murder, armed robbery, and other serious crimes.