Mexico City - At least 19 prisoners were killed and another 20 wounded during a four-hour prison riot in the northern Mexican state of Durango, officials said Saturday.
The fighting started Friday after security was increased at the prison in Gomez Palacio town following the transfer of prisoners from a high-security facility, the state's director for security, Jorge Torres, said.
At least 200 state and federal security forces were called in to stop the fighting and guard the estimated 2,500 inmates. Television footage showed police officers in bullet-proof vests storming the prison while crowds gathered outside.
The trouble first started with prisoners setting fire to a warehouse, the El Universal newspaper reported. Television images showed machine gun-toting police on top of the prison amid large plumes of black smoke.
Prison mutinies are common in Mexico, where jails are usually overcrowded and in poor condition. Since the beginning of this year, 15 prisoners have been killed in fights at the Gomez Palacio jail.
Source: Americas News
August 15, 2009
