Prisoners seize hostages in Russia's Volgograd region, at least one person killed

[August 23, 2024]  MOSCOW (Reuters) -A group of prisoners seized hostages in a jail in Russia's Volgograd region on Friday and at least one member of the prison staff was killed, state media said. 

"During a session of a disciplinary commission, convicts took staff of the penal institution as hostages," the prison service said in a statement.

"Measures are currently being taken to free the hostages. There are casualties."

The prison in the town of Surovikino is designated as a "harsh regime" penal colony with capacity to hold up to 1,241 male prisoners, according to the prison service website.

(Reporting by Reuters; Writing by Mark Trevelyan and Anastasia Teterevleva; editing by Christina Fincher)

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