Riot in Ecuador prison leaves over 43 inmates dead

Over 43 inmates have been reported dead after a fight broke out between rival gangs in an Ecuador prison.

According to the public prosecutor’s office, dozens of people have been killed after a riot broke out between two rival gangs inside a prison.

Authorities have said that fight broke out between rival gangs Los Lobos and R7 gangs inside the Bellavista prison in Santa Domingo de Los Colorados, about 80km (50 miles) from the capital, Quito.

The public prosecutor’s office said on Twitter, “For now there are 43 inmates dead,”  adding that the situation was “developing”.

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AFP reported that relatives of several prisoners gathered outside the prison to get information about what happened. Injured prisoners were taken out of the prison by an ambulance and prison truck for medical facilities.

According to Ecuador’s Interior Minister Patricio Carrillo, the fight broke out early morning on Monday. At least 112 prisoners, who tried to escape the prison during the riots, were recaptured by the police while 108 inmates are still at large.

According to an Ecuadorian prison expert, the increasing violence in prisons indicates that the administration has lost all authority. The prison administration has been asking for more prisoner rehabilitation programmes to tackle the armed groups operating inside the prisons.