This article is more than 5 years old

This article is more than 5 years old

Three inmates died and five were injured after a disturbance at an Oklahoma prison, a spokesman for a company that owns and operates the facility said on Saturday night.

Staff at the Cimarron correctional facility in Cushing quelled an inmate disturbance around 4.40pm on Saturday, said Steve Owen, of Corrections Corporation of America, based in Nashville, Tennessee. He said the incident lasted about 40 minutes and was contained to one housing unit.

No staff members were injured. The names of those killed and injured were not immediately released.

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The inmates who were hurt were taken to hospitals. It was not clear what caused their injuries.

Owen said the prison was placed on lockdown and inmates confined to their housing areas. The facility about 50 miles south-west of Tulsa in northeast Oklahoma houses medium- and maximum-security male inmates for the Oklahoma Department of Corrections.

A Department of Corrections spokeswoman, Terri Watkins, said the incident occurred in a medium-security portion of the prison. The Cimarron correctional facility houses about 1,600 inmates, she said.

In June, between 200 and 300 inmates were involved in a brawl at the prison. Eleven prisoners were taken to hospitals after the fight and the facility was placed on lockdown. The fighting occurred among inmates in three separate housing units. No correctional workers were injured.

Owen said the incident Saturday remained under investigation.