Four hundred police officers have entered a prison in the Ecuadorean port city of Guayaquil where at least 116 inmates have been killed in a gang war.
The fight first broke out on Tuesday when inmates from one wing of the prison crawled through a hole to gain access to a different wing, where they attacked rival gang members.
At least six prisoners were decapitated, others were shot and some were killed by grenades.
Police managed to get six cooks, who were trapped in the wing where the fight happened, to safety and only two police officers were injured.
Ecuador’s prison director, Bolívar Garzón, said that police had entered the prison and found 24 bodies.
According to Mr Garzón, there was renewed shooting inside the prison overnight Tuesday into Wednesday and as police went through the prison wings one by one, they found scores more bodies, bringing the death toll to 116.
Four hundred officers were again sent into Litoral Penitentiary on Thursday morning amid reports of renewed gunfire and explosions.
Ecuador is a country in South America’s west coast.
BBC