Prison Commissioner Edward Lamb has confirmed that an inquest will be held into the sudden death of a Westgate inmate.

However, he said there do not appear to be any suspicious circumstances relating to the death of 37-year-old Kino Outerbridge on Tuesday morning.

A Police spokesman confirmed Mr. Outerbridge's death and said: "He was rushed to the King Edward VII Memorial Hospital via ambulance but was subsequently pronounced dead by an on-call physician. Inquiries into this incident are ongoing.

"An autopsy is anticipated in due course. The Bermuda Police Service extends sincere condolences to the family and friends of the deceased."

A prison officer told this newspaper on Tuesday that the man was walking through his unit when he fell to the ground.

Lt. Col. Lamb said yesterday that he could not comment on the details but confirmed that the man had been inside Westgate since August, serving a 12-month sentence for a string of offences including wilful damage and assaulting a Police officer. He declined to list the full details out of respect for the family.

The Prison Commissioner said a Coroner's inquest will be held as a matter of course into the death, because it occurred in a prison facility.

He added: "It's a difficult time, and a regrettable circumstance and our deepest condolences go to the family."

The incident comes after a string of deaths and serious incidents in Bermuda's prisons in recent years.

This prompted calls yesterday from the Shadow Minister of Public Safety Senator Michael Dunkley for an independent inquiry into the way the facilities are run.

Government had to make a $325,000 compensation payout in 2006 relating to the death at the Ferry Reach facility of Steven Mansfield (Pepe) Dill in 2001.

The 41-year-old had tried in vain for seven hours to summon medical assistance before dying of complications associated with bronchial asthma. An inquest in 2003 ruled that he died as the result of the absence of timely medical intervention, which was possibly exacerbated by drug abuse.

In June 2007, prisoner Dennis Robinson who was convicted of the Cooper twins' murder was subjected to a brutal attack in his Westgate cell at the hands of two fellow inmates.

In July last year, mentally-ill Westgate inmate Lorenzo Robinson committed suicide in a segregation cell at Westgate. His inquest last week heard allegations that he was being bullied by prison officers and other inmates at the time he took his own life although these were strenuously denied by the parties named (see separate story).

Sen. Dunkley said that while he could not speak about the latest death, since inquiries are still underway to establish the circumstances, he is concerned over other incidents in the prisons prior to it plus persistent allegations that drugs are easily available and the high recidivism rate.

"I am calling for an inquiry into the prisons. These other incidents seem to show that things are not right," he said. He claimed that Government turned down the opportunity last year for a UK team from the Home Office to review the local system.

"We need an independent body to look at the prisons," he said.