Inmate found dead after Russian prison fire, unrest

MOSCOW – One inmate has been found dead at a Siberian prison colony where a fire that started amid unrest between prisoners and guards destroyed several buildings.

The fire, which engulfed an area of about 30,000 square meters (300,000 square feet), broke out Friday and was reported extinguished on Saturday.

The ombudsman for the Irkutsk region where the fire occurred, Viktor Ignatenko, was quoted by the state news agency RIA-Novosti as saying the body of one inmate was found; the report did not specify the cause of death.

Inmates at the maximum-security prison in Angarsk, 4,000 kilometres (2,500 miles) east of Moscow clashed with guards on Friday; the cause of the unrest is unclear.