Nine die in Brazil prison brawl

At least nine prisoners died and 11 were injured in a brawl among inmates at a prison in the northeastern Brazilian state of Ceara, authorities said.

The riot apparently arose when several inmates got into arguments Sunday afternoon while their families were visiting, Maj. Marcelo Praciano, commander of the state prison guard corps, told the media on Monday.

In the midst of the fighting, inmates set fire to a number of mattresses, Praciano said during a briefing to reporters at the prison in the suburbs of Fortaleza, capital of Ceara.

Some of the injured, who have been taken to a hospital near the penitentiary, suffered several degrees of burns from the blazing mattresses and other objects set on fire by the prisoners, he said.

Riots and brawls in Brazilian jails are common, and authorities admit that among the factors causing them is the extreme overcrowding.

Brazilian prisons currently house some 514,000 people, almost 20% more than their capacity, according to reports by human rights organisations.

Various Brazilian authorities, including Supreme Court Chief Justice Joaquim Barbosa, have admitted that the penitentiary system does not provide "decent conditions" for inmates.