At least 80 prisoners killed in Brazilian jail riot as corpses thrown from windows by rampaging inmates
Around 80 killed in Brazil prison riot after lack of water
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At least 80 inmates have been killed during a riot at a prison in Brazil's rainforest city of Manaus - sparked because of a lack of water, it has been reported.
The uprising at the Anisio Jobin Penitentiary began yesterday afternoon during visiting hours when a number of prisoners are reported to have escaped.
The bloodbath is now being blamed on rivalry between the city's two main gangs, Family of the North (FDN) and the First Command of the Capital (PCC), Brazil's largest criminal organisation.
Rioters have reportedly thrown many bodies out of the windows of the jail, while at least six victims had their heads decapitated, according to reports.
(Photo: Getty)
(Photo: Getty Images South America)
A video taken by an inmate inside the prison shows dozens of bodies, some with their clothes removed, piled up on a blood-soaked floor.
Negotiations are continuing to release seven prison staff who are still being held hostage, police said.
Inmates' main demand is the return of the overcrowded jail's water supply, which police said was cut several months ago.
Some are also asking for their cases to be reviewed and prisoners who had been transferred there from semi-open prisons to be able to return.
(Photo: Getty)
The high-security prison which holds some of the northern Brazilian city's most dangerous criminals, has capacity for 454 inmates but currently holds 1,108.
Public security secretary Sergio Fontes called the rebellion a "massacre" and blamed the uprising on gang warfare not the jail's appalling conditions.
He said: "I say 'massacre' because six deaths for me is already a massacre.
"Everything points to an attack by the biggest faction against the smallest, to eliminate the competition."
Authorities have refused to say how many inmates had fled the prison, which is surrounded by jungle, but confirmed that 20 men have so far been recaptured.