Eighteen die in Guatemala prison gang fight

At least 18 members of rival street gangs were killed and 55 injured in a battle inside a Guatemalan prison this morning (NZ time), witnesses said.

The bodies of 18 prisoners were carried out of the prison, dubbed by inmates "The Hole," in the Escuintla province of southern Guatemala. Many of the dead were killed by hand grenade blasts, the government said.

It took hundreds of police and soldiers armed with automatic weapons and firing tear gas several hours to regain control of the prison. Government officials confirmed the death toll.

- REUTERS