A total of 41 people have died and several have been injured as a result of a riot on Tuesday in a women's prison in Honduras, Reuters reports.
The riot broke out at the Centro Femenino de Adaptación Social (CEFAS), a women's prison in Támara located about 25 kilometers from the Honduran capital Tegucigalpa. To deal with the situation, Honduran authorities have declared a state of emergency and deployed a special operation with police, military and firefighters.
"We will not tolerate vandalism or irregularities in this prison," Julissa Villanueva, Honduras' deputy security minister, wrote on Twitter.
25 burned to death
Some of those killed were shot dead while others were burned to death. Honduran authorities found, among other things, 25 charred bodies that they are trying to identify.
According to a preliminary report, the altercation was about a gang showdown between prisoners in Mara Salvatucha MS-13 and in Pandilla 18, reports La Tribuna. Meanmen from one gang allegedly set fire to the other gang's cell. Villagers reportedly heard cries for help. A total of about 900 prisoners are in the prison.
History of prison brawls
There is a history of deadly prison incidents in Honduras. In 2020, an altercation occurred at a women's prison in which six prisoners were killed. In 2019, a gang brawl erupted at a correctional facility in which 18 prisoners were killed, and over 350 died in a fire at a correctional facility in 2012.