Over one thousand prisoners escaped four Brazilian prisons on Monday, when their day-release privileges were reversed and limitations were placed on visitors amid concerns about the coronavirus pandemic.
Rebelião na penitenciária de Mongaguá, litoral de SP. Até o momento, 8 agentes estão sendo feitos de refém. Presos fugiram pela orla da praia sentido Praia Grande. PM em atuação no local. pic.twitter.com/26JVlAg2IJ
— Leonardo Martins (@___leomartins) March 16, 2020
The inmates escaped the night before their privileges were set to be revoked, Newsweek reports.
In a statement released on Monday, the Sao Paulo state prison authority said that 174 inmates had been recaptured but conceded that it was “still tallying the exact number of fugitives” that had fled the semi-open jails in Tremembé, Porto Feliz, Mirandópolis, and Mongaguá. Brazilian media believes over 1,500 prisoners escaped.