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| Brazilian prisoners die in blaze | |
| (40 minutes later) | |
| At least 25 prisoners have died in Brazil after fellow inmates set fire to mattresses in a cell, police and local media report. | |
| Police said the incident appeared to be a settling of scores between rival gangs in the Ponte Nova jail in the central state of Minas Gerais. | Police said the incident appeared to be a settling of scores between rival gangs in the Ponte Nova jail in the central state of Minas Gerais. |
| Brazil is notorious for its overcrowded prisons and the presence of organised criminal gangs within their walls. | Brazil is notorious for its overcrowded prisons and the presence of organised criminal gangs within their walls. |
| There have been several mass prison riots in recent years. | There have been several mass prison riots in recent years. |
| The Ponte Nova prison, 180km (110 miles) south-east of the regional capital Belo Horizonte, has about 175 inmates living in a space meant for 87. | |
| The fire broke out during a dawn riot, after a group of prisoners broke out of one section of the jail and entered another wing, officials told AFP news agency. | |
| They surrounded a rival gang and set their mattresses on fire, gutting the top floor of the wing. | |
| Police broke up the riot using water cannon and tear gas. The remaining inmates were rounded up. | |
| Officials said no-one had escaped during the fire. | |
| The blaze came days after President Luis Inacio Lula da Silva announced a $3.3bn (£1.7bn) package of measures aimed at reducing violence, which include building new prisons and expanding social programmes. |