Mexico will probe fatal daycare fire

HERMOSILLO, Mexico, June 6 (UPI) -- Mexican President Felipe Calderon Saturday ordered a federal investigation into a fire that killed at least 38 children at a daycare center.

During a speech, Calderon offered condolences and prayers to the families that lost children, The New York Times reported.

"I want to express in the name of the federal government, of all Mexicans and of me personally, our condolences to the mothers and fathers for this tragic accident," he said.

Jose Larrinaga, a spokesman for Mexico's northwestern state of Sonora, told reporters it appeared the blaze, in which more than 100 children between ages 1 and 5 were injured, began Friday afternoon in a tire warehouse and then spread to the one-story, concrete building next door housing the ABC Daycare.

Witnesses told CNN the scene at the daycare center was chaotic, with parents screaming children's names and fainting. When the fire began, 176 children ranging in age from 6 months to 5 years were believed to be inside. Many of them were trapped by thick smoke, local media reported.

Sonora state spokesman Daniel Duran told CNN 23 children remained hospitalized late Saturday -- 15 of them in critical condition. Ten children had been taken to other hospitals, including Shriners Hospital for Children in Sacramento.

A spokeswoman for the hospital told CNN the facility would help care for children injured in the fire.