BRASILIA, July 15 (Xinhua) -- A riot at Itirapina prison in Brazil 's southern state of Sao Paulo ended Monday morning with the death of two inmates and the release of 65 hostages following 22 hours of tension and violence, authorities said.
Negotiations between prison authorities and the inmates succeeded in putting an end to the rioting at 8:20 a.m. local time (11:20 GMT), before riot troops entered the facility.
Sao Paulo's Secretariat for Prison Management said in a statement that the riot in the city of Itirapina, some 200 km from the state capital Sao Paulo, was sparked by "a dispute between two inmates."
The Secretariat confirmed two prisoners were killed allegedly in fighting between rival gangs.
The hostages were relatives and friends of inmates who were visiting in the prison at the time the riot broke out at noon on Sunday.
The riot marks the first of its kind in the state where there are total of 156 prisons, according to the statement.
Itaparina prison was built to accommodate 210 inmates, but currently houses as many as 602.
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