In unfortunate scenes witnessed in a prison in Peru, nine inmates were left dead and scores of guards wounded when rioting broke out after two inmates died from COVID-19.?
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The hysteria is said to have been caused by the death of two inmates who died of the virus, which resulted in other inmates losing their minds as they revolted to be let out.
According to AFP, the riot broke out on Monday in Lima's Castro Castro prison. By nightfall, authorities said the situation had been brought under control, giving an initial toll of three dead before it was revised to upwards to nine.
Apart from the nine killed, 60 prison guards, five police officers and two inmates were wounded in the unrest, the National Penitentiary Institute (INPE) said in a statement.
The death toll from COVID-19 in the Peru's overcrowded prison system has risen to 15, following the deaths of two inmates over the weekend, while more than 600 inmates are infected.
The riot at Castro Castro was the latest in a spate of prison unrest linked to growing fears among inmates over the spread of the virus.
On Tuesday, inmates at Lurigancho -- the country's largest prison located north of Lima - staged a two-hour protest demanding protection against COVID-19.
"We're dying. Don't let us die infected. We need medicine," read a banner held up by some of the prisoners.
The protest ended when the Lurigancho warden signed an agreement with the prisoners concerning their medical attention, reports AFP.
Earlier in April two inmates were killed during a prison riot in the northern city of Chiclayo, sparked by concerns over the pandemic's spread.
More than 97,000 inmates are housed in 68 prisons across the South American country, an excess of some 50,000 over prison capacity, the INPE said.
In addition, 169 prison guards have tested positive for the coronavirus, of which seven have died.