Convicts cooly escape after prison riot in Brazil

54 inmates managed to escape after a riot at a youth detention center in Sao Paulo on Monday, Globo News reports.

The inmates at Fundacao Casa began rioting at around midday, and had soon taken some 29 members of staff hostage. According to Globo, the director of the unit was also taken hostage and was seriously injured.

Inmates burnt their mattresses while rioting, as shown in this video with aerial footage:

This video, released by the Estado News Agency, shows some inmates escaping:
 

Police were able to end the rioting by 5 p.m., and so far 17 of the escaped inmates have been recovered.

A number of violent prison riots in recent years have brought a lot of attention to issues at Brazilian prisons, including overcrowding and sanitary conditions. Fundacao Casa was recently forced to pay out money to underage inmates who suffered inhumane treatment.

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