Six people die as fire erupts in Paraguay's largest prison

All six died due of smoke inhalation as the fire erupted 'in Tacumbu Prison, the largest in Paraguay.

Victoria Rodriguez, 83, the mother of inmate Venancio, cries outside Tacumbu jail where a fire broke out at the overcrowded facility in Asuncion, Paraguay. |AP

ASUNCION: A total of six people -- five inmates and a prison guard -- died as fire broke out in a prison in Asuncion on Friday, officials said.

All six died due of smoke inhalation as the fire erupted 'in Tacumbu Prison, the largest in Paraguay, Efe news quoted an official as saying.

A rescue official said there was a danger that some of the prison's walls might collapse.

State Public Prosecutor Javier Diaz Veron said a team will visit the jail to probe the incident.

Tacumbu Prison has a capacity for 1,655 inmates, but is jammed with 3,980, the kind of overcrowding also seen in Paraguay's other penitentiaries.