Santiago, Chile (CNN) -- At least 83 people were killed and several more were injured in a fire that broke out after a riot at a prison in Chile, the country's president, Sebastian Pinera, told CNN Chile on Wednesday.
The fire started in one of the towers of the San Miguel prison, south of Santiago, the Chilean capital.
Fourteen people were hospitalized in critical condition, Health Minister Jaime Manalich told reporters. Four rescuers were also injured.
"This is a terrible tragedy," Manalich said, calling it the worst incident to strike the country's penal system.
The prison housed 1,961 inmates at the time of the fire, said Felipe Bulnes, the justice minister. The prison was built to hold only 1,000 inmates, CNN Chile reported.
Metropolitan regional mayor Fernando Echeverria said that the fire broke out after a riot among inmates.
The call came in at 5:48 a.m. (3:48 a.m. ET), the fire department said. The cause of the blaze is under investigation, the department said.
Meanwhile, a large crowd of inmates' relatives gathered outside the prison, worried about the fate of their loved ones.
"Why won't they give us information?" one woman asked.
Echeverria said authorities will inform the relatives of deceased prisoners before making the names public.
The mayor told the families that the only ones affected by the fire were the prisoners on the fourth floor of Tower 5.
All others are safe, he said. A list of the victims will be released to the families later Wednesday, he added.
"Our main concern is to attend to those people who were injured and to handle the information regarding those who died diligently," Bulnes said.
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