Brazilian President Michel Temer stated Thursday that a prison riot in the northern state of Amazonas, which left 56 dead, had been a "dreadful accident."

"I express my solidarity to the families who saw these prisoners executed in the dreadful accident in the prison of Manaus," said Temer at the start of a national security meeting.

The riot in the Anisio Jobim prison complex broke out on Jan. 1 and lasted over 17 hours. Local crime group Familia del Norte attacked members of the Primer Comando de la Capital (PCC) gang from Sao Paulo and executed many to destroy the group's hold in the region.

Amazonas' public security secretary, Carlos Fontes, told media that the prison had capacity for 592 people but contained 1,224.

In his comments, Temer stated that the Anisio Jobim prison complex was managed by a private firm and that no public officials were clearly responsible for the disaster.

Temer also pointed out that prison oversight falls to regional governments, although he admitted that public security becomes a national problem in such times.

These were the president's first comments about the riot, which happened four days ago.

Temer also mentioned that his government's new national security plan, which is currently under debate, will seek for all new prisons to have various buildings to separate different levels of inmates.

source: Xinhua