The Washington Post reported that a prison riot that took place between two rival gangs over the weekend in Brazil's north-eastern state of Bahia came to an end on Monday, claiming the lives of eight inmates and freeing 50 people, mostly visiting family members, held hostage by the prisoners, according to prison officials.
Five inmates were wounded in the riot, out of which four were nursed and sent back to the prison, whereas the fifth inmate was admitted to the hospital in an unknown condition.
According to The Times of India, the convicts equipped with knives took visitors hostage, including women and children and asked to speak to local human rights authorities about the prevailing conditions in the Feira de Santana regional prison, which is currently holding 1,467 prisoners in a facility built for only 644 inmates.
Prison authorities, in a statement released via email, said that they came to an agreement with the rioting inmates enabling them to release the hostages and allowing the police to enter the facility, which put an end to the violence, according to The Washington Post.
Many Brazilian prison facilities have faced criticism from international human rights activists referring to the facilities as "medieval," as most of them are severely overcrowded, prevalent throughout Latin America.
A lack of investment is one of the reasons for the cramming in Brazilian prisons; causing a number of riots in recent years whereas most prisons have now become a hub of corruption mostly operated by criminal gangs.
