Death toll in Guatemala shelter fire rises to 41

Nineteen of the adolescents perished at the scene of the March 8 fire and 22 others have died at hospitals.

Consuelo Garrido lights a candle in remembrance of the victims of a fire at a youth shelter, at a makeshift memorial outside the morgue where the bodies are being identified, in Guatemala City, Thursday, March 9, 2017. | AP

Guatemala City: The death toll in a fire at a Guatemalan children's shelter has risen to 41 after another girl died of her injuries. The attorney general's office said yesterday the girl died after being transferred for treatment to a hospital in Cincinnati, Ohio.

She was one of nine girls transferred for treatment to hospitals in the United States. Nineteen of the adolescents perished at the scene of the March 8 fire and 22 others have died at hospitals. The fire began when mattresses were set ablaze during a protest by residents at the overcrowded youth shelter. Guatemalan authorities have arrested three former child welfare officials who were responsible for overseeing the youth shelter.