MONTERREY // At least 52 inmates were killed and 12 injured in a predawn prison riot in the northern Mexican city of Monterrey on Thursday.
Riot police and ambulances were deployed to the Topo Chico prison while angry families of inmates seeking to enter the facility threw rocks over a gate as smoke billowed from the building.
Rescue workers could be seen bringing injured inmates from the Topo Chico prison in Monterrey, at least some with burns.
“We are experiencing a tragedy,” said Jaime Rodriguez, the governor of Nuevo Leon state, as he anounced the latest death toll.
He said the riot involved a faction led by a member of the infamous Zetas drug cartel.
Milenio television and the Reforma newspaper reported that the riot broke out during an apparent escape attempt.
Nuevo Leon state public security spokesman Antonio Arguello said the riot erupted at about midnight.
“The authorities formed a security cordon and nobody escaped. Everything was under control at 1.30am,” he said.
Some relatives of prisoners formed a line to block a boulevard.
“We will stay here blocking this avenue until they give us an answer,” said Ernestina Grimaldo, whose son is a prisoner.
“We want to know how our relatives are doing because they are telling us that there are more than 50 dead and no authority is giving us answers.”
The incident erupted on the eve of a visit to Mexico by Pope Francis.
During the trip the pontiff will visit another notorious prison in the northern border city of Ciudad Juarez.
* Agence France-Presse and Associated Press
