At least 10 inmates were killed and about 50 hurt early today in a battle among inmates for control of part of an overcrowded maximum-security prison in Bolivia's eastern lowlands, the national police chief said.
Chief Alberto Aracena said at least seven of the injured were in critical condition after the melee in Palmasola prison outside Santa Cruz. He said many of bodies were burned and expected the death toll to rise.
"There was a fight for control in the prison in two cellblocks," he told reporters.
Prosecutors have entered the prison to count the victims as ambulances evacuate the wounded.
Authorities say it took more than four hours to get the prison under control.
As in many Latin American prisons, inmates largely control the inside of Palmasola.
