Prisoners take guards hostage in Brazil’s Manaus

Prisoners at a jail in Manaus, a Brazilian city deep in the Amazon that has been hit hard by the coronavirus outbreak, temporarily took seven prison guards captive on Saturday, the local prison authority told Reuters agency.

The prisoners had revolted to devise a diversion as others create a tunnel under the prison walls, but police snuffed out the plot after attacking the prison and freed the guards, prison officials said.

There were no reported deaths. Nonetheless, 10 prison guards, two police officers and five inmates were mildly injured, the prison authority announced in a statement.

Dozens of family members rallied outside the prison walls lamented of conditions inside the jail, including inadequate food, cells without electricity, and absence of proper medical attention for inmates. Some declared the spread of the coronavirus throughout the city was making their concerns more urgent.