The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) said Tuesday that a Sunday riot that killed nine teenagers in a southern Chilean jail was completely avoidable.
The Fund urged the government to take urgent steps to prevent repetition of such a tragedy.
After a visit to the jail in Puerto Montt, 1,000 km south of Chile's capital Santiago, UNICEF officials concluded that "Chile has the resources to safeguard life and guarantee the physical integrity of jailed adolescents".
"It is indispensable that all the nation's jails have the infrastructure and security equipment needed to confront emergencies," they added.
One of two teens who had been hospitalized after the incident died Tuesday from the after-effects of asphyxiation.
The Chilean government on Monday promised an immediate investigation of "a tragedy which the whole nation is mourning".
Police have criticized the controversial law that set up jails for teenagers.
Source: Xinhua
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