A riot in a prison in northern Brazil has left at least six inmates dead, some of whom have been decapitated, reports say.
The clashes broke out late on Monday at a prison some 330km (205 miles) from Sao Luis, in Maranhao state.
According to Brazilian media sources, some of the prisoners who died had been imprisoned for paedophilia.
Prisoners went on the rampage to protest at overcrowding after a failed attempt to escape, O Globo reports.
“The prisoners say that six of the inmates have been killed, and some have been decapitated and the heads hung on the bars,” Pinheiro regional commissioner Laura Amelia Barbosa is quoted by AFP as telling a local radio station.
She said the standoff, involving 90 prisoners, was still ongoing and described the atmosphere as “tense”.
There are frequent riots in Brazilian prisons, which are often overcrowded.
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