Nine killed in Brazil prison riot

A riot at a detention center in northeastern Brazil has left at least nine people dead and several others injured.

According to the daily O Estado de Sao Paulo, the deadly riot took place at the Temporary Prison in the metropolitan area of the Ceara state capital Fortaleza, on Monday.

Authorities say the riot was triggered by a dispute between rival gangs in the prison.

Reports say the dead and injured suffered burns and asphyxiation after inmates set mattresses on fire.

Officials said that eight of the 11 wounded inmates were hospitalized with serious injuries.

Riots are common in prisons in Brazil. Authorities say the leading cause of such brawls is that the jails are overcrowded.

According to a 2012 Human Rights Watch report, detention centers in Brazil “are severely overcrowded, lengthy pre-trial detention is the norm…Forced labor persists in some states despite federal efforts to eradicate it.”

Human rights organizations say that some 514,000 people are currently in prison in Brazil. The figure is 20 percent higher than the country’s jails’ capacity for prisoners.