800 prisoners riot in Sao Paulo jail

Some 800 prisoners began rioting and taking hostages today in a jail in central Sao Paulo state, just 24 hours after the worst…

Some 800 prisoners began rioting and taking hostages today in a jail in central Sao Paulo state, just 24 hours after the worst prison riots in Brazilian history claimed 19 lives, local media reported.

Inmates at the Pirajui penitentiary were holding eight people hostage, Globo television said.

The latest uprising comes just hours after a top prison guard union official warned of a impending bloodbath in the wake of massive riots that exploded Sunday at 29 jails across the state, in which up to 6,000 people, most of them visitors at the jails, were seized by inmates.

AFP