Anger rose in Honduras as word spread of witness accounts that inmates were left trapped in a raging prison fire, or were shot trying to flee the blaze that killed 355 prisoners.
Resentment over the conduct of prison guards deepened as experts sought to identify the charred remains of those killed at the overcrowded Comayagua prison, thought to be the world's worst-ever jail fire.
"If the guards had opened the gates, they would not have died," said Rosa Caseres, whose husband, serving five years for kidnapping, died in the inferno.
"This is criminal. The authorities are incompetent," said the mother of three young children.
Other relatives echoed her fury.
"How can you believe 350 people died just like that? It's because they let them die. They (guards) did not come with the keys," said Angelina Raudales, 62, as she waited outside the morgue in Tegucigalpa for the body of her husband, Jose Adrian.
Gladys Oviedo, 40, searching for the body of her brother Augusto, called for an investigation "which is not a cover-up."
To make matters worse, reports were spreading that prison guards began shooting at inmates who managed to flee the flames.
"One of the prisoners who survived said my husband made it out, but the guards shot him and then threw him into the flames," said Yadira Hernandez, whose husband was serving a murder sentence.
Police officials have denied negligence in the deaths, but some firefighters pointed out that prison guards were slow to open cell doors and gates when the fire broke out.
The prison housed 852 inmates, twice its capacity. Authorities put the final death toll at 355.
Andres Pavon of the Committee for Defense of Human Rights in Honduras, called for an independent investigation, saying there had been some claims that prisoners "had paid (prison guards) to allow an escape and that the fire was set to allow the escape."
National Police spokesman Hector Mejia told AFP there was no basis for the claim, but added that the investigation "may take months."
The devastating fire has led President Porfirio Lobo to suspend Honduras's top prison officials, including the corrections chief, as well as those at the Comayagua penitentiary, 90 kilometers (55 miles) from Tegucigalpa.
The fire broke out at around 10:50 pm Tuesday (0450 GMT Wednesday) and raged for around three hours before firefighters brought it under control.
Security minister Pompeyo Bonilla told AFP that it would take time to identify the victims.
"But fortunately we have the support of friendly countries," he said, noting that forensic experts had arrived from Chile, the United States, Guatemala and El Salvador.
In Washington, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives said it would send a team to probe the fire by "reconstructing the scene, identifying the origin of the fire, conducting interviews, and sifting through debris to obtain evidence related to the blaze."
Refrigerated trucks were used to bring the bodies to the morgue in the capital. The first 115 bodies were transported overnight and another 238 followed in the morning.
Officials were unclear about the cause, at first believing that the blaze was sparked by a short circuit.
But state governor Paola Castro later told AFP that her office had received a phone call from someone claiming to be an inmate, telling her that another prisoner had set the fire in a suicide attempt.
Police said firefighters arrived on the scene within 15 minutes of the blaze breaking out.
Many distraught relatives blamed prison authorities for moving too slowly to save the inmates, and some accused the guards of refusing to let inmates out despite the flames.
The Organization of American States in Washington said it was launching a probe into the blaze, and EU foreign affairs chief Catherine Ashton expressed "great sorrow" over the disaster.
In neighboring Guatemala, authorities stepped up security in an effort to prevent a similar prison crisis.
"We've raised the alert level and the prison system is fully focused on acting," said Interior Minister Mauricio Lopez.
Prisons in Honduras -- and throughout Latin America -- are notoriously overcrowded. The country's 24 penal facilities officially have room for 8,000 inmates, but actually house 13,000.
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