Ecuadorian authorities said they regained control of the two prisons. | Photo: Ecuavisa

Quito, July 22 (RHC)-- Riots at two prisons in Ecuador left a preliminary balance of 18 dead inmates and at least 35 injured, according to the National Service of Integral Attention to Persons Deprived of Liberty (SNAI) in an updated report.

SNAI said in a statement that eight inmates of the Litoral prison, one of the prisons in the city of Guayaquil, in southwestern Ecuador, lost their lives as a result of the riots.

In the prison of the city of Latacunga, capital of the central province of Cotopaxi, there were also riots on Wednesday, which left ten prisoners dead and around 35 injured.

The National Police had informed hours before that five of its agents were injured during the operations to control the situation: three in Guayaquil and two in Latacunga.  SNAI, in the communiqué that updated the information, confirmed that three police officers were injured during the operations in Guayaquil, but specified that in Latacunga six officers were injured.

"Agents of the Penitentiary Security and Surveillance Corps, together with elite groups of the National Police, retook control of the prison facilities," according to the SNAI press release.