WASHINGTON - Inmates at a prison in the US state of Indiana staged a massive riot on Tuesday and at least two corrections staff were injured, officials said.
"There is no way you can have a full scale riot and not have some kind of injuries," Mayor Tom Nipp told Fox News, adding he did "not have any specific information yet as to the nature of those injures."
Nipp said he was in touch via mobile phone with a corrections officer on the third floor of the prison and was receiving periodic updates on the situation.
Inmates at the New Castle Correctional Facility set at least three blazes and attempted to rip down fences, prompting police and corrections officials to try to secure the perimeter and determine if any inmates had escaped.
Television footage showed inmates crowding along walkways on the prison grounds and fires burning in various locations around the prison, which can house 2,400 inmates.
Corrections officials told local Indiana television that there were 1,000 inmates from Indiana currently at the facility. At least 630 extra inmates had been transferred to the prison from Arizona, a process that began last month.
Both groups of inmates took part in the riot, they said.
04/24/2007 20:00 GMT