Dozens of prisoners escape jail after starting fire

Fifty-five prisoners managed to escape a psychiatric ward after starting a fire at a jail.

In a third riot in Brazil's prisons this week, more than three dozen inmates escaped having started the blaze in Sao Paulo.

Officers have managed to recapture 18 of the prisoners at large so far.

The motive behind the latest prison riot is unclear, but could be linked to the country's chronic overcrowding problem in many of its prisons.

Since Sunday, at least 18 inmates have died in two separate riots that have broken out in jails across the Amazonian region.

On Monday, a number of prisoners were killed - some in brutal fashion - during clashes between rival factions at Agricola de Monte Cristo jail.