Prison clashes in South Carolina leaves 7 inmates dead; 17 injured

Seven inmates were killed while at least 17 were seriously wounded on Sunday, April 15, after fights broke out between the prisoners inside a high-security jail in South Carolina.

Spokesperson of the prison Jeff Taillon informed about the tragedy after the State Law Enforcement Division personnel helped in securing Lee Correctional Institution in Bishopville, Lee County, in the wee hours of Monday.

Taillon said although no officer was injured in the fighting - considered one of the deadliest in the history of US prison incidents in recent years, the injured were administered medical treatment outside the institute.

According to a local newspaper in South Carolina, the victims of the riot deemed a "nuisance" to two other prisoners who killed them.

The fighting was described as "multiple inmate-on-inmate altercations".

The correctional institution was opened in 1993 and it houses 1,500 offenders - all male who include some of the most violent offenders of the state.

Two months ago, the correctional house made the headlines after one of its inmates killed another.

The year 2017 saw the number of instances of inmates assaulting prison employees at 37, much higher than 21 recorded in 2015. That year, two officers were stabbed in a brawl.

The Bishopville correctional institution has in fact seen the most number of deaths than any prison in South Carolina in the recent years.