to a report issued by the fire department, around each bed there were two to three electric fans and four mini splits running permanently.36 40. In addition, the available “tap water” was inadequate. Consequently, the latrines had to be filled with buckets; there were no washbasins or showers and no articles of personal hygiene were provided. This gave rise to an unhealthy and unhygienic environment and infestations of insects. 41. Furthermore, the inmates of cell No. 19 did not receive proper medical care because the health services were organized to serve the general prison population and their isolation made access to these services difficult. In addition, the food they received was inadequate. 42. The prison guards maintained a climate of hostility and intimidation toward the inmates and, during their inspections of the cells, they stole or destroyed the inmates’ personal possessions. According to the testimony of some next of kin, sometimes the inmates were subjected to collective punishments, such as exposure to the sun or the rain. D. The fire in cell No. 19 43. The fire in cell No. 19 of the San Pedro Sula Prison took place on May 17, 2004, between 1.30 and 2 a.m., and it began inside the cell, on the top part of the entrance door. 44. At 1.45 a.m., the prison police who were on duty at post number 6 in front of cell No. 19 fired several warning shots. The testimony given by the survivors of the fire in the judicial case file is consistent in indicating that when the prison guards became aware of the fire and reached the main gate of the cellblock, they did not open it straight away, but rather, in response to the cries for help of the inmates, they merely fired shots and insulted them.37 45. At 1.55 a.m., the director of the prison called the Fire Department and the National Police Headquarters asking for help, while the guards on duty located the ‘prison warden’ charged with the custody of the keys to the cell.38 46. At approximately 2.30 a.m.,39 the inmates managed to open the inner gate40 of cell No. 19 by means of a cement weight used for exercise,41 and they exited towards the outer part of the cellblock. 36 Cf. Report on the investigation of the fire by the Honduran Fire Department (file of attachments to the merits report, attachment 40, folio 593). 37 Cf. Testimony rendered during the investigations conducted by the Public Prosecution Service by Arnal Leiva Paz, Carlos Hernán Mejia Aguilar, Celio Alberto Valdez, Dennis Antonio Santin, Alexander Ramírez, Franklin Geovanny Chávez Jiménez, Gilberto Núñez Cruz, Gustavo Olivera, Javier Alejandro Pineda Orellana, Javier Antonio Hernández, Jorge Ulises Amaya, Jose Anselmo Hernández, Jose Luis Chacón Estradas, Jose Luis Valdez and Josué Ricardo Cruz (files of attachments to the merits report, tomes I and II, attachments 6, 8, 10, 11, 12, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 26, 27, 29, 30 and 31, and folios 425 to 426, 435 to 438, 443 to 444, 447 to 450, 452 to 454, 482 to 485, 487 to 490, 492 to 502, 504 to 507, 509 to 513, 518 to 519, 521 to 523, 530 to 533, 535 to 536, and 538 to 539, respectively). 38 Cf. Indictment request of the Public Prosecution Service against Elías Aceituno Canaca (file of attachments to the merits report, attachment 4, folio 407) and record of the initial hearing issued by the First Instance Court of San Pedro Sula, supra note 30, folio 379. 39 Cf. Testimony rendered during the investigations conducted by the Public Prosecution Service by Carlos Eduardo Cerna, Carlos Hernán Mejia Aguilar, Carlos Roberto Archaga, Celio Alberto Valdez, Dennis Antonio Santos, Alexander Ramírez, Samuel Amaya Rodriguez, Elías Leonard Sevilla Zelaya, Elvin Alfredo Soto, Elvis Joel Lanza Hernández, Javier Alejandro Pineda Orellana, Javier Antonio Hernández, Jorge Ulises Amaya, Jose Anselmo Hernández, Jose Antonio Rodríguez, Jose Luis Chacón Estradas, Jose Luis Valdez, Jose Ricardo Cruz, Juan Antonio 14