Quito, Ecuador:
Inmates in six Ecuadoran prisons on Friday released the 50 guards and seven police officers who had been taken hostage in the latest spasm of narcotics-related mayhem, the state prison institute said.
The prison guards and police “were freed and are undergoing medical evaluation to verify their health status,” the SNAI prison authority said, adding that all appeared to be in good health.
Authorities announced the hostage-takings on Thursday but it remains unclear when the guards and police were captured and at which prisons.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)