2 dead, 17 hurt in Camp Bagong Diwa jail riot

Two inmates were reported killed while 17 were wounded following a riot inside the Metro Manila District Jail in Camp Bagong Diwa, Taguig City on Tuesday night.

Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) chief jail Director Serafin Barretto said that at least seven of those injured are in a critical condition and currently at the detention facility's infirmary.

The riot broke out at around 6:20 p.m. when members of jail fraternity groups Sputnik and Bahala Na Gang clashed.

Authorities have yet to identify the slain and injured inmates.

Barretto said that it has been five days since the jail had no electricity, noting that this might have fueled the tension between the two groups.

The electricity was said to have been cutoff due to the detention facility's unpaid bills amounting to P5 million. The jail is currently relying on generator.

Barretto said other gangs in the facility did not join the riot.

He said the leaders of the two groups have been separated from the other inmates. —report from Mao dela Cruz/Marlly Rome C. Bondoc/ALG, GMA News