At least 26 prisoners are dead with several victims decapitated and dismembered, while some 28 are on the run following two separate incidents at prisons in Brazil, authorities reported on Sunday.
In one incident, members of a "militarized police" anti-riot unit took control of the Alcacuz State Penitentiary after dawn on Sunday in Nisa Floresta, a city in northern Rio Grande do Norte State, after a riot on Saturday left potentially as many as 30 inmates dead, according to GloboNews.
"The number of dead from the riot ... could surpass 30," GloboNews said, citing police sources. AP cited the state security office for Rio Grande do Norte State as saying at least 26 people had been killed.
Inmates carry bodies after a prison riot in Natal, Rio Grande do Norte State, Brazil on January 15, 2017. /CFP Photo
The state's largest penitentiary, Alcacuz is located some 30 km from the state capital Natal, and was built to house 620 inmates. However it is very overcrowded, and holds 1,150.
In a statement, the state Secretariat of Public Security said the riot was "the outcome of a dispute between rival gangs."
Video footage from inside the prison being widely shared online shows several decapitated bodies in the prison yard.
The bodies of inmates are removed after a violent prison riot in Natal, Rio Grande do Norte State, Brazil on January 15, 2017. /CFP Photo
In a separate incident in southern Brazil's Parana State, two prisoners were killed by prison staff after a group of inmates blasted their way through a wall early Sunday at the Piraquara State Penitentiary in Curitiba.
The breakout occurred after a riot was started, presumably to distract guards, the state prison management agency Depen said.
Following the explosion, prison wardens opened fire on the escapees, killing two.
Much of the recent violence within Brazil's prisons has been attributed to overcrowding, but Depen said the Piraquara facility designed to hold 647 inmates was holding 628.
Bodies of inmates are taken away after violence at a prison in Natal, Rio Grande do Norte State, Brazil on January 15, 2017. /CFP Photo
Since the start of the year, more than 100 inmates have been killed in violent prison clashes, mainly at facilities in Brazil's poorer northern states, such as Amazonas and Roraima.
(With inputs from Xinhua)
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