Inmates riot in Brazil prison, threaten hostages

Prisoners are rioting at an overcrowded prison in southern Brazil and have threatened to throw several hostages from the roof.
Television images show inmates at the Parana state prison in Londrina clambering across the rooftop, dragging several hostages with bound wrists.
The G1 Internet portal of the Globo television network quotes police as saying prisoners are holding around five hostages, all of them inmates.
Calls to police in Parana went unanswered.
Prison riots are a regular occurrence in Brazil, which has been repeatedly accused by human rights activists of allowing rampant overcrowding and degrading conditions in its prisons.
The G1 report says 1 140 inmates are held at the Londrina prison. The unit was designed for 928.