4 inmates dead, 8 injured in Brazil prison riot

By Maria Paz Salas

SANTIAGO, Chile (AA) – At least four inmates were killed and eight others injured Wednesday in a fire and riot at a Brazilian prison, authorities said.

The riot began when inmates set fires to mattresses in their cells, according to prison officials.

Prisoners were protesting the reduction of work hours for guards that forced the suspension of family visits at the Getulio Vargas prison.

Fire spread quickly through the prison resulting in the four deaths from smoke inhalation, officials said. The victims’ bodies were found in the central courtyard.

Wounded inmates were taken to area hospitals for treatment after showing symptoms of poisoning.

The deceased have been identified but their names were not released out of respect for the victims’ families, according to the Superintendent of Penitentiary Services in Rio Grande do Sul.

The facility has an official capacity of 56 inmates but 137 prisoners have been registered at the site.

Prison overpopulation is a common problem throughout Brazil and the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights urged the country to help prevent riots that have caused dozens of deaths in the recent months.