Riot police officers are seen in front of the Dr. Edgar Magalhaes Noronha jail, where many inmates broke out the day before their day-release privileges were due to be suspended (Picture: Reuters)

Hundreds of prisoners have escaped during riots in Brazil over coronavirus restrictions.

Inmates in at least four prisons escaped in the state of Sao Paulo yesterday after officials cancelled all temporary releases over fears they could bring coronavirus back inside with them upon their return.

Sao Paulo state’s penitentiary administration secretariat said in a statement on Monday night that 174 inmates have already been recaptured.

But Brazilian media said more than 1,000 people could still be on the loose. Reports also say inmates were complaining about restrictions to visitations this weekend, also aimed at containing the virus.


RebeliÃ£o na penitenciÃ¡ria de MongaguÃ¡, litoral de SP. AtÃ© o momento, 8 agentes estÃ£o sendo feitos de refÃ©m. Presos fugiram pela orla da praia sentido Praia Grande. PM em atuaÃ§Ã£o no local. pic.twitter.com/26JVlAg2IJ — Leonardo Martins (@___leomartins) March 16, 2020

A video shot in the city of Mongagua, on the coast of Sao Paulo state, shows hundreds of men sprinting out of a prison that has the capacity to hold about 2,800 inmates.



One man is heard shouting: ‘Come back Monday, OK?’

It followed a move by the local government to ban the temporary release of about 34,000 inmates at semi-open prisons due to fears they could get infected outside and bring the virus back inside.

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Riots broke out in Tremembé, Porto Feliz and a wing of a prison in Mirandópolis in São Paulo state.

Journalist Leonardo Martins in Sao Paulo tweeted video of prisoners flooding towards a beach in Mongagua and said the incident happend during a ‘rebellion’ in which eight prison officers were being held hostage.

Authorities are still looking for fugitives, he said. The G1 news site reported that 40 had been recaptured.

Riots broke out at four semi-open prisons in Brazil amid coronavirus anger (Picture: Reuters)

In a statement, the São Paulo state penitentiary department said semi-open prisons did not have armed guards.

It had postponed the Easter prison break – one of five annual breaks for prisoners in semi-open regimes who work in the day – because of coronavirus, the department said.

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