A day of violent armed rioting at a prison in southwest Ecuador on Sunday led to the deaths of at least 31 inmates, the country’s prisons agency said.

Twenty-seven prisoners in port town Machala died due to asphyxiation and ‘immediate death by hanging,’ according to a statement shared on X by the SNAI prisons agency. There were no other details about how the prisoners died.

Authorities said they were still working to ‘fully clarify the facts,’ and forensic medical personnel were on site to verify information.
Earlier Sunday, SNAI reported that four people had been killed due to the deadly rioting, which was later brought under control by tactical police.

The incident broke out around 3:00am (0800 GMT) at the prison, where local residents recalled hearing gunfire, explosions, and cries for help coming from inside the prison’s walls.