Guatemala Prison Fight Triggered by Yard Football Game Kills 17 Inmates

Seventeen people were killed after a violent prison fight in Guatemala on Monday.

An AFP report, published by Yahoo Sports, revealed that the fight happened at the Granja Penal Canada Prison, a maximum security detention facility in the country.

It added that police and army officers immediately surrounded the vicinity of the prison which has a total of 3,100 inmates.

The latest death, as per the same report, was an inmate which died from injuries at a state hospital as confirmed by the district attorney's office.

The prison violence reportedly started during a football game where general prisoners and gang members clashed, triggering a big fight during a time when family members of the inmates were allowed to visit.

"You could hear shooting all around, and I ran out with three of my children, which is why I had to go back to get the other one," visitor Heidy Solares told AFP.

She claimed she was in the prison, along with her four children, to visit her husband, Estaban.

It was also noted that after the police inspected prisoners inside the facility in search for firearms, AFP observed that there were a number of detainees who were "made to stand or sit on the grounds as officers monitored them, batons in hand."

According to BBC, the jail has been known for being overcrowded and having violent inmates.

During Monday's prison fight, some of the inmates reportedly had guns in their possession.

Deputy Interior Minister, Elmer Sosa, shared to BBC that it could also be possible that the inmates became violent when guards stopped them from escaping the prison.

The same report noted that earlier this year, prison guards in the said facility also foiled an escape attempt using a tunnel underneath the prison.

Meanwhile, ABC News said that the injuries were severe and even included seven decapitated ones.

Escuintla District Assistant Prosecutor, Victor Mijangos, said all those who were killed were attacked with a machete and knife.

He added that prison officials discovered the heads of three men, who were believed to be leaders of a group, on top of a table. Mijangos also clarified that nobody died or got wounded by gunfire.

One of the fatalities, 23-year-old, Estuardo Gregorio Rodriguez, was identified by his mother, Elsa, after looking into the photographs at a funeral home where the dead inmates were taken.

AFP noted that one of the main problems in the correctional facilities in the country is overcrowding. It said that a prison with a 600-person capacity is filled with inmates thrice the said number.