Dozens of inmates die in Colombia prison riot

Forty-nine inmates have been killed and 30 injured during attempted escape from prison in Tulua, officials say.

At least 49 inmates have died and dozens were injured during a riot in a prison in the southwestern Colombian city of Tulua, according to officials.

General Tito Castellanos, the head of the national prisons agency, described the overnight incident on Tuesday as “a tragic and disastrous event”.

He told the local Caracol Radio station that 30 people were injured.

A spokesperson for the National Penitentiary and Prison Institute confirmed the death toll of what they described as an attempted prison escape, telling AFP news agency that the figure was preliminary and “may change”.

Ivan Duque, the outgoing president of Colombia who is on a visit to Portugal, said the incident would be investigated.

“We regret the events in the prison in Tulua, Valle del Cauca. I am in touch with [General Tito Castellanos] and I have given instructions to carry forward investigations that allow us to clarify this terrible situation,” Duque said in a Twitter post.