At least 60 killed in Brazil prison riot

Vans of the Legal Medicine Institute (IML) carrying bodies of inmates killed during a riot.
(Image credit: JAIR ARAUJO/AFP/Getty Images)

A prison riot over the weekend in the northern Brazilian city of Manaus left at least 60 inmates dead, officials said Monday. The riot started Sunday afternoon when fighting broke out between two rival drug gangs, and ended nearly nearly 17 hours later on Monday morning.

The region's head of security Sergio Fontes called it "the biggest prison massacre in our state's history," noting that many "were decapitated, and they all suffered a lot of violence." Several prison guards were held hostage, and as many as 130 prisoners reportedly escaped.

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