At least 20 killed in Brazil prison breakout bid: officials

Rio de Janeiro (AFP) – At least 20 people died Tuesday in an attempted breakout from a prison in northern Brazil aided by an armed group on the outside using explosives to try to destroy a wall, officials said.

“The attempt was supported by an extremely heavily armed group. According to preliminary reports, the prisoners also had weapons inside the prison,” the Para state security service said. The deaths resulted from clashes with police.