The prison authorities in Paraguay say two adolescents were killed when a fire broke out in a young offenders institution in Asuncion early on Friday morning.

Another thirty inmates were injured, some of them seriously.

One prisoner told reporters that they had started a fire in a protest over food, but when the flames spread the guards refused to let them out.

Prison officials denied this, saying the inmates had blocked the doors with their beds and mattresses.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service