Riot, fire erupt in prison near Mexico City

Mexico City: A riot and fire erupted late Monday at a prison in a Mexico City suburb, prompting authorities to send in hundreds of police and firefighters, officials said.

Order was restored and the fire was extinguished before midnight, with no immediate reports of casualties at the Barrientos prison, located in the municipality of Tlalnepantla, officials said.

"Everything is under control at the Barrientos prison," said Jose Manzur, general secretary of the State of Mexico government.

"For the moment I am told there are no serious injuries or deaths," Manzur said.

Manzur told Uno TV that the riot was the result of a "dispute between groups" of inmates and that 600 police officers entered the prison to restore order.

Local media showed images of flames coming out of the prison, while tearful relatives of inmates tried to get close to the penitentiary to get information.

It is the latest unrest to hit a Mexican prison.

In February, 49 inmates were killed in a massive brawl at the Topo Chico prison in the northern city of Monterrey. Three others were murdered earlier this month a the same prison.

A report by the National Human Rights Commission found that inmates govern themselves in 71 state prisons, which are also overcrowded.