Story By: Jonathan Macias, Sub Editor: Joseph Golder, Agency: Newsflash

Newsflash/@yoquieropilsen

This is the moment inmates run riot in a prison and try to scale the walls over the lack of preventive COVID-19 measures that resulted in the death of 23 convicts.

The riot took place on Saturday night at the La Modelo prison in the central Colombian capital Bogota and two videos have been shared on Twitter which have been viewed 260,000 and 136,000 times respectively.

According to local media, inmates rioted because they felt abandoned by the prison authorities during the COVID-19 outbreak.

One video shows dozens of inmates running around the courtyard while some of them climb onto a building roof to try to scale the prison wall.

Newsflas/@inocent_kidd

Another clip shows prisoners running through the corridors while whistling and shouting.

A prisoner is heard saying: “They have us locked up here in inhumane conditions, it is horrible. This is yard 4. They have broken the bars and are running along the corridors.”

Justice Minister Margarita Cabello told local media: “No prisoners escaped. There was a criminal plan to escape that was stopped.

“There is not a health problem that justifies this plan and riot. There have been no cases of prisoners or staff members being infected.”

The justice minister said that 23 prisoners died in the incident while 83 others were injured with 32 needing hospital treatment.

Meanwhile, seven workers from the National Prison Office (INPEC) were also injured in the riot.

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