
A Brazilian city's murder rate has soared by 650 per cent with 52 homicides in just three days after police officers went on strike.

Military troops had to be deployed in the state of Espírito Santo after looting, rape and murders broke out on Saturday amid the industrial action.

The chaos has been compared to the 2014 thriller film The Purge, where people take advantage of the absence of law and order to carry out horrific crimes.

With officers staging a walk-out over conditions and wages, thugs are running riot, with people running rampant with guns and machetes, shops being robbed, buses set on fire and dead bodies are left lying in the street.

Four people lie face-down in the street as military troops check them with two black bin bags sitting on the ground nearby

Two men sit near a grassy verge having been detained by the armed military troops on suspicion of stealing from shops

An unidentified man was shot and his body was found on Jacaraipe beach, in the metropolitan area of Vitoria, EspÌrito Santo

A Civil Police officer stands guard over a looter shot in the leg by the Civil Police while looting an electronic store in Vitoria

Civil Police in Vitoria detain a topless looter who was shot in the leg as he tried to ransack an electronic goods store

A man winces in pain after he was shot in the leg by the Civil Police while looting an electronic store in Vitoria, Espirito Santo

An unidentified man was shot and his body was found on Jacaraipe beach - one of 52 recent homicides reported in the city

A Civil Police officer yells 'get back' to a crowd calling him out for shooting a person who was looting a store in the city

Protests by friends and family of military police officers in the coastal state ignited the crime wave and forced the shutdown of state services such as health centres and schools.

According to latest figures, there were 802 recorded murders in the state capital of Victoria in 2015.

This equates to just more than two a day.

In the last three days, since the strikes began, there have been 52 reported homicides, according to Plus 55.

The unprecedented surge in violence dwarfs the figures of the entire state, which has a population of 3.9million.

In 2012, the latest available figures, there were just over five reported homicides a day state-wide.

Since the strikes, the figure in Victoria alone is more than 17.

At the request of the state government, federal troops began arriving Monday night to help patrol the streets.

The protests calling for higher pay began this weekend outside military police barracks across the small, coastal state and have prevented vehicles from leaving.

That has left the military police virtually unable to patrol, though a few foot patrols began Monday, the Department of Public Security said.

A man observes the broken window of his car, caused by a gunshot after gang attacks in Vitoria

Civil police detain looters after they were shot in their legs, in Vitoria, Espirito Santo state, Brazil,

A bus burns violently after it was torched on the street during the chaos in Brazil

Harrowing scenes were reported from all around the state, and one resident told Political Outsource: 'The thugs are randomly shooting at anyone who passes the street in Espírito Santo. My God what is happening.'

Schools have been closed and even football matches cancelled in the affected areas due to the lack of security, which has meant many people are refusing to even venture outdoors.

'I won't even leave my house today,' one Brazilian resident in Espirato Santo told Political Outsource.

'Things are absolutely crazy, there are people running around with guns in pretty populated areas, dozens of people stealing from malls, even dead bodies on streets.'

In the state capital of Vitoria, store windows were smashed and metal shutters used to protect shops peeled away as looters took advantage of the vacuum in law enforcement.

Civil police used force to stop some thieves, shooting at least one man in the leg.

Defense Minister Raul Jungmann traveled to the state Monday evening and 150 soldiers were already on duty.

In all, 1,000 members of the armed forces and 200 members of the national guard were being sent to reinforce police.

The commander of the military police in the state has also been replaced.

Members of the Brazilian army patrol the streets of Vitoria after they were called in to help protect the public

Looters plunder an electronic store as they make the most of the lawlessness in the city of Vitoria

A man lies face-down in the street surrounded by five armed military officers who have been called in to restore order

A paramedic attends to a man who is left on his back in the riots in Espírito Santo

The protests come as Brazil grapples with a deep, protracted recession and many states struggle financially.

In Rio de Janeiro state, where the government is desperately trying to plug a huge deficit, public servants have repeatedly protested over late pay, sometimes clashing violently with police.

The protests in Espirito Santo have 'paralyzed the military police service, not just in the capital but also in the entire state,' the state's head of public security, Andre Garcia, told reporters.

He said there had been a marked increase in crime since the protests began.

Later, he told the defense minister that there had been 37 homicides from Sunday to Monday, though that figure has since climbed to 52, according to local media.

'Movements of this nature, they hold society hostage,' Garcia said.

Because of security concerns, officials in Vitoria suspended most services Monday, though emergency services were being maintained with help from the municipal security force.

The city closed schools, parks and health centres.

The closure of health services meant there could be no vaccinations for yellow fever in the city, even as Brazil experiences its worst outbreak of the disease since 2000.

Espirito Santo has seen 14 confirmed cases in the current outbreak, and dozens more are under investigation.

A court ordered the protesters to end their blockade, but the demonstrations outside barracks continued.

Because of their crucial role, members of the military police are not allowed to engage in strikes.

But Garcia, the head of public security, implied that officers were behind the movement, which he called 'supposedly spontaneous.'

Major Rogerio Fernandes Lima, a union representative, denied to reporters that military police had organized the protests but said the officers supported the goals, namely higher pay.

He said officers in the state are among the worst paid in Brazil.

Members of the Brazilian army patrol the streets of Vitoria at night as people attempt to go about their usual routines

Some stores have resorted to hiring their own private security guards to stand outside and stop potential looters

Relatives of police officers camp at the entrance of police headquarters to block the main entrance, during a police strike over wages

The defence ministry said soldiers were being sent in 'due to the serious public safety situation'.

Brazil's Defence Minister Raul Jungmann visited Vitoria yesterday on a fact-finding mission.

Police officers have been blockading police stations in protest against unpaid salaries since Saturday.

The acting governor of Espirito Santo state, Cesar Colnago, had earlier begged President Michel Temer 'to send the National Force and the army to safeguard the security of citizens'.

State security chief Andre Garcia said the police chief had been replaced and the new commander had been tasked with 'restoring order and discipline'.

Talks are to take place with the disgruntled officers but they have been told they have to go back to work first.

Vitoria and its suburbs have a population of 1.8 million people, while a total of 3.9 million live in Espirito Santo state.

State Secretary of Public Security André Garcia told Globo: 'The first step taken by the government to overthrow this movement was the filing of a lawsuit requiring the illegality of the movement to be enacted.

'Our intention is to negotiate, always, but this negotiation must be based on mutual respect, and the condition for the police come to patrol the streets and answer the calls of the Capixabas citizens.'

The government has threatened to file a lawsuit against the force, claiming the strike is illegal.

A man is left bloody and battered amid the chaos caused by the military police strike

Thugs break into a shop and can be seen running out of the door with a handful of goods

Dramatic footage from the Purge-like chaos during which one person was shot