A riot in a prison in southern Ecuador has killed at least 31 inmates, according to prison authorities.

In a statement released on Sunday, Ecuador’s SNAI prison authority said 27 of those found dead at the Machala prison in El Oro province had been hanged. A further four died amid an armed riot that also left 33 inmates and one police officer injured.

The violence, during which residents reported hearing gunfire, explosions, and cries for help, came less than two months after 14 inmates died at the same facility in what authorities described as a dispute between gangs.

Authorities said they were still working to “fully clarify the facts”, and forensic medical personnel were on site to verify information. The conditions of the injured were not immediately clear.

The deadly day at Machal

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