Riot breaks out at prison in northeast Thailand
The Associated Press | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 5 years, 2 months AGO
BANGKOK (AP) — Officials in Thailand say a riot has broken out at a prison in the northeastern province of Buriram, and smoke can be seen coming from the facility.
Provincial Deputy Governor Pratchaya Ounpetchvarakorn confirmed press reports that there had been gunfire at the prison Sunday but did not elaborate.
Corrections Department Director-General Narat Sawettanan said that prison officers had to use force against the inmates after more than 100 launched a protest. He said the cause of the unrest was under investigation.
Reports in Thai media said five people had been injured but there was no immediate official announcement about casualties.
The website of the newspaper Matichon said the unrest was related to fear of a COVID-19 outbreak in the prison. The Public Health Ministry previously said two prisoners at a facility it didn't specify were found to be infected with the virus and the Corrections Department on March 18 banned inmates' relatives nationwide from prison visits for 14 days.
Thai prisons have a reputation for overcrowding.
ARTICLES BY THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
The Latest: US helped family escape Afghanistan overland
WASHINGTON — The United States is confirming for the first time that it has helped a U.S. citizen and family members to escape Afghanistan through an overland route to a neighboring country.
The Latest: US helped family escape Afghanistan overland
WASHINGTON — The United States is confirming for the first time that it has helped a U.S. citizen and family members to escape Afghanistan through an overland route to a neighboring country.
The Latest: Top Republican says Taliban holding Americans
WASHINGTON — The top Republican on the House Foreign Affairs Committee says some Americans who have been trying to get out of Afghanistan since the U.S. military left are sitting in airplanes at an airport ready to leave but the Taliban are not letting them take off.