Haiti prison break leaves 12 dead as inmates go hungry

A prison break in the Haitian city of Saint-Marc has left 12 inmates dead.

Mayor Myriam Fievre said the incident, the third in Haiti in recent months, came amid a protracted humanitarian crisis fueled by gang violence.

State Prosecutor Venson Francois said the situation on Friday afternoon was under control at the jail, which housed around 540 inmates, but the local population should remain vigilant and watch for escapees.

"The situation is under control but the results are catastrophic. All the cops' dormitories have burnt down. The archives have burnt down. They've set everything on fire except their cells," Francois said.

Earlier in the day, unverified videos shared on social media showed people climbing over walls and smoke streaming out of walls ringed with barbed wire, a loud explosion and fire.

Walter Montas, a local government official, said the incident had developed out of a spontaneous protest as prisoners were going without food and facing appalling health conditions.

The national police did not immediately respond to Reuters' request for more information on the incident.

More than 7500 people were being held in Haitian prisons at the end of June, according to the United Nations, down from about 12,000 before gangs broke thousands out of the two largest prisons in early March.

The March prison break triggered a state of emergency that was soon followed by the resignation of former Prime Minister Ariel Henry, who had travelled abroad to secure Kenya's support in a security mission to battle the armed gangs, and was unable to return due to the fighting.

With many prison cells in Haiti filled to close to quadruple their capacity, the UN said poor conditions and a lack of necessities had resulted in the deaths of at least 109 inmates so far this year.