Mexico daycare blaze toll rises to 45

A three-year-old boy died in hospital in central Mexico, bringing the death toll from last week's daycare center blaze to 45 small children, officials said.

A three-year-old boy died in hospital in central Mexico, bringing the death toll from last week's daycare center blaze to 45 small children, officials said.

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Federal and local governments were investigating the fire which has caused indignation throughout Mexico.

The latest victim suffered 85 per cent burns after the fire swept through the ABC center in Hermosillo, north Mexico, last Friday, said an official on Friday at the Mexican Social Security Institute, which oversaw the daycare center.

The boy died from organ failure, according to the hospital in Guadalajara to which he had been transferred.

Seven other children who were hurt in the fire remained in the hospital, including two in a serious condition, a statement said. Three others had been transferred to hospitals in the United States.

Initial investigations showed that the fire had started when an air conditioning system overheated in an adjacent building, officials said.

A total of 141 people, including six adults, were in the daycare center when clouds of smoke started pouring in.