At least 49 dead and 30 injured after horror prison riot sparks fires in Colombian jail

AT least 49 inmates have been killed after a mass brawl broke out across a Colombian jail.

Riot officers were scrambled to the scene following reports that inmates had started a fire in the early hours of Tuesday morning.

General Tito Castellanos, the head of the INPEC prison agency, local Caracol Radio labelled the horror riot as a “tragic and disastrous event.”

"There was a situation, apparently a riot, the prisoners lit some mattresses and a conflagration occurred with unfortunately triggered the death of 49 prisoners," he said.

"It created a cascade effect that spread to virtually the whole block."

General Castellanos added that the prison had a total number of 1,267 inmates and around 30 more people were injured.

According to officials, the inmates set fire to mattresses in a bid to stop guards breaking up the riot.

The blaze has has since been controlled, and no prisoners escaped.

Colombian President Ivan Duque, who is on a visit to Portugal, condemned the incident and confirmed that it would be investigated.

He wrote: "We regret the events in the prison in Tulua, Valle del Cauca. I am in touch with (General Tito Castellanos) and I have given instructions to carry forward investigations that allow us to clarify this terrible situation."

The incident comes two years after a riot in the capital Bogota left 23 inmates dead and 80 injured as they protested conditions amid the coronavirus pandemic.

In the wake of the incident, the South American country promised that it would release thousands of prisoners who complained about crowded conditions and lack of jail services.

President-elect Gustavo Petro, who takes office in August, said on Twitter that prison violence "obliges the complete re-imagining of prisons policy toward a humanization of jail and dignity for the prisoner."

Last year, at least 79 inmates were killed as a mass brawls broke out across four jails in Ecuador after a gang leader was killed.

The government believes violence is connected to drug gang competition.