Prisoners at a badly overcrowded facility in Sao Paulo state rioted and knocked down a fence to attempt a mass escape before being subdued today, Brazilian officials said.
Conflicting reports emerged from the Jardinopolis Penitentiary, northwest of Brazil's biggest city, after the incident.
The state prison service confirmed in a statement that there had been a riot, but said "prisoners who escaped were recaptured" and taken to another facility.
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Footage broadcast on Globo television showed smoke pouring from the Jardinopolis prison. Footage also showed a large section of prison fencing knocked down to the ground.
One prisoner was shown running barefoot across a field and others were shown being apprehended outside the prison.
Like many prisons in Brazil, Jardinopolis is heavily overcrowded, with a population of 1,864 but a capacity of only 1,080, according to the state penitentiary service.
Riots and mass escape attempts are common across Brazil, Latin America's biggest economy.
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