Three people have been killed in a mass brawl between rival gangs of gravediggers at a Moscow cemetery.

Up to 500 people are believed to have taken part in the fight at the Khovanskoye cemetery in the south-western suburbs of the city.

Guns were used as well as shovels, spades, steel bars and baseball bats. Some of the victims died when they were run over by cars as people fled the violence.

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Police officers stand guard over a body of one of those killed in the mass brawl at Khovanskoye cemetery

Footage of the incident showed men running around in broad daylight with staves and other weapons

The Russian interior ministry said more than 50 people were arrested, three of whom were armed with pistols and were detained as they tried to drive away.

One of the dead men has been named locally as Suhrob Hushakov, 24, a cemetery worker.

Early reports suggested a police officer had also been killed but this has not been confirmed.

Local media reported 23 people were in hospital, 13 of them with serious injuries, some of which had been caused by gunshots.

The Russian interior ministry said more than 50 people were arrested, three of whom were armed with pistols and were detained as they tried to drive away

Local media reported 23 people were in hospital, 13 of them with serious injuries, some of which had been caused by gunshots

Police officers interogate a man next to the cemetary in southwest Moscow where at least three people were killed

Khovanskoye is the largest cemetery in the city and the brawl is believed to be linked to lucrative contracts for gravestones and other services..

Police spokeswoman Sofya Khotina said the brawl was caused by a territorial dispute between two different groups of cemetery workers.

Video footage showed groups of men running around, many armed with shovels, spades and staves. But guns are also believed to have been involved.

Many of those involved were believed to be illegal migrants from former Soviet republics in Central Asia and the Caucasus.

The violence took place amid gravestones and Russian Orthodox crosses (pictured)

There have been conflicting reports about what happened at the cemetery. Some reports suggest there was a raid by immigration officials

In November 1996 a bomb exploded at a funeral of an Afghan war veteran at Kotlyakovskoya Cemetery in Moscow, killing 14 people.

That incident, at the funeral of Mikhail Lihodey, the former president of the Afghan veterans group, was carried out by two men who had formed a splinter group.