Caracas, May 05: Eight inmates died and three were injured in a riot at a prison in Venezuela, officials have said.
The fight broke out Tuesday at the Santa Ana prison in Tachira state after a ‘confrontation among the inmates’ over long-standing disputes, Consuelo Cerrada, national director of prison services, said.
The situation has been brought under control and Venezuela’s national guard was conducting a role call to determine if any other prisoners had been injured or killed.
A total number of 366 prisoners died in Venezuelan prisons in 2009, while in 2010, 62 inmates have died so far, according to figures compiled by the Venezuelan Prison Observatory.
—IANS