Brazil prison riots: What happened and how many died in the massacre?
A FULL-scale gang war broke out in a Brazilian prison leaving dozens dead.
Rival gangs waged a five hour battle at the Altamira Regional Recovery Center in the state of Para, Brazil.
What happened?
A ferocious gang battle broke out at the prison on Monday morning at around 7am and was only brought under control at around midday.
At least 57 people were killed and 16 of those were decapitated with some of the heads being used as balls in a savage game of football.
Disturbing images of the sick game came to light in a video obtained by the Reuters news organisation.
Many of those who perished were burned alive after being locked in their rooms by lags from rival organised crime groups who set prison wings on fire.
The total number of victims killed in the latest prison riot is expected to rise, prison authorities say.
They confirmed the riot was the result of a vicious fight between the Rio de Janeiro-based Comando Vermelho and a local criminal group known as Comando Classe.
Members of the Comando Classe A (CCA) gang set fire to a cell where rival gang members from Comando Vermelho (Red Command) were kept.
Death Toll
A spokesman said: "Leaders of the (Comando Classe A) set fire to a cell belonging to one of the prison's pavilions, where members of the (Comando Vermelho) were located."
Fifteen prisoners were found dead at one wing alone, many were strangled or stabbed with sharpened toothbrushes.
State prisons chief Jarbas Vasconcelos said the fire had spread rapidly, with inmates held in old container units that had been adapted for the prison while another building is under construction.
He is launching an investigation into how prison intelligence and surveillance systems failed to anticipate the deadly rampage.
A report from the National Justice Council in July 2019 showed the prison had 343 detainees but was designed to hold a maximum of 163.
Officials denied the prison was overcrowded.
In January 2017, nearly 150 prisoners died during three weeks of violence in several Brazilian prisons as local gangs backed by Brazil's two largest drug factions attacked one another.
Gruesome deaths are not uncommon. In May, at least 55 inmates were found dead, choked to death or stabbed with toothbrushes in several prisons in the neighbouring state of Amazonas.