At least 33 inmates have been killed in an uprising in a Brazilian prison in the northernmost region of Roraima, local government officials said on Friday.
Most of the killings were carried out with knives, a local government spokeswoman said.
Officers and heavily armed military-like riot squad were deployed to the prison, officials said.
The governor confirmed today that order has since been restored at the jail – which only has capacity for 750 inmates – but there are 1,475 prisoners currently staying there.
Uziel de Castro, head of security for Roraima, blamed the violence on the Sao Paulo-based First Capital Command (PCC) drug gang, the Estado de S.Paulo newspaper reported.
It is the second time a major disturbance has unfolded in the country this week.
Around 60 people died in a fight between rival drug gangs at a jail in the city of Manaus on Sunday afternoon.
The uprising at Anisio Jobin prison reportedly kicked off because there was no water supply.
Last month, a group of fugitives who broke free from the Monte Cristo prison wasted no time in posing for selfies while on the run from police.
Some of the snaps show the criminals gloating about their escape by posing with a firearm.
According to the Policia Militar de Roraima, two of the escapees were killed in a police shoot-out after they were called to the area to try and recapture them.
Agencies/Canadajournal