Interpol hunts 9 suspects in Mexico blaze

July 08, 2009 01:28:26 PM

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Interpol has issued arrest warrants for nine fugitives wanted in Mexico for a daycare fire that killed 48 children in June, justice officials said Tuesday.

"The names of the fugitives have now been recorded in the police and immigration databases" of all member countries of the international police organization, the Mexican Attorney General said in a statement.

The fugitives' identities were not revealed but they included the owners of the ABC daycare center in the northern city of Hermosillo and officials from the Mexican Social Security Institute (IMSS), a source from the attorney general's office told AFP.

The disaster, which sparked outrage throughout the country, began during the children's nap time. Most of the small children, aged between three months and four years old, died of smoke inhalation. About 30 others were injured and some still remain in hospital.

Seven employees of the state of Sonora, whose capital is Hermosillo, were arrested in connection with the fire in late June before being released on bail shortly thereafter. Only one person, an IMSS official, is currently being detained over the incident.

Initial investigations showed that the fire had started when an air conditioning system overheated in an adjacent building, officials said. Some irregularities in the security system had been found as early as 2005, according to an investigation.

A total of 141 people, including six adults, were in the daycare center when clouds of smoke started pouring in.