Brazil prisoners agree to end Cascavel jail riot

The rioters killed four of their fellow inmates - two of them beheaded - hours after seizing the prison.

Under the deal, reached after hours of negotiations, most inmates will be transferred to other jails in Parana state.

Relatives feared a bloodbath if there was a violent police operation.

Some 200 prisoners have already been allowed to leave the prison to be transferred to other units.

They were being threatened by rival gangs at the penitentiary, the authorities said.

Another 600 inmates are expected to be taken to other prisons across the state in the next few days.

The rioters have promised to release the two prison guards who have been kept as hostages since the uprising began.

Local media showed prisoners beating the two men, who were held with ropes around their necks, on the roof of one of the buildings.

The authorities in Parana state believe that 20 of the 24 wings of the Cascavel prison were destroyed in the riot.

The prisoners are unhappy about how the prison is run, as well as about food and hygiene there.

'Large jail population'

The trouble broke out when warders delivering coffee to inmates were reportedly overpowered.

There were about 1,000 prisoners in the prison as the riot began, with inmates ransacking and setting fire to much of it.

The BBC's Wyre Davies in Rio de Janeiro says that rival prison gangs are most likely taking advantage of the riot to settle scores.