Prison massacre leaves at least 68 dead

Prison massacre leaves at least 68 dead in Ecuador. 25 people have also been injured during the carnage.

The massacre took place in the Ecuadorian city of Guayaquil. Relatives have been waiting for information on their loved ones. Last September more than 100 prisoners died in another massacre at the prison. According to the authorities, the violence began due to power struggles between rival gangs in the prison.

The prosecutor’s office took to Twitter and said: “According to preliminary information, around 68 prisoners were killed and another 25 injured.” The office has launched an investigation into “the violent events and murders recorded last night (Friday) and early this morning (Saturday) inside the Penitenciaría del Litoral, in Guayaquil“.

According to the governor of the province of Guayas, Pablo Arosemena, the confrontation began when inmates attacked another cellblock. The leader of one gang had been released from cellblock two after having served 60 per cent of his sentence.

Arosemena commented: “When that cellblock was without its leader, other cellblocks, with other gangs, tried to break them, to enter and carry out a total massacre.” According to the Governor, the block holds around 700 inmates.

Police intervened in the massacre and save lives. Police officers had to resort to teargas to help control the situation in cellblock two. Arosemena revealed that inmates were “making detonations” and “trying to make a hole in the wall.”

According to the governor: “At the same time they were burning mattresses, generating toxic smoke.”

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