QUITO, Nov. 10 (Xinhua) -- The Ecuadorian national prison administration agency SNAI confirmed Sunday that another 27 prisoners have died of asphyxiation in a prison riot in a southern coastal province, bringing the total death toll to 31.
The riot broke out in the early hours of the same day at a prison in Machala, the capital of the southern coastal province of El Oro, leaving four prisoners dead and many others, including a police officer, injured, according to initial official reports.
Local media reported that the riot was sparked by the "reorganization" and transfer of inmates to a maximum-security facility.
Machala is one of the most violent cities in the South American country.
Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa declared a new 60-day state of emergency on Nov. 5 in five coastal provinces and three municipalities in the central provinces of Cotopaxi and Bolivar to quell "grave internal unrest" fueled by escalating violence from organized crime. ■
