At least 68 people have been killed following rioting and a fire at a police station in Venezuela.
Forensic doctors are on the scene in the city of Valencia, in the state of Carabobo, to determine the exact number of fatalities, authorities said.
A police officer was shot in the leg and is in a stable condition in hospital.
Distraught relatives gathered outside the police station were dispersed with tear gas.
News of the horror broke late on Wednesday night when authorities released the information.
Chief Prosecutor Tarek William Saab tweeted: “The State Prosecutor’s Office guarantees to deepen investigations to immediately clarify what happened in these painful events that have left dozens of Venezuelan families in mourning.”
Venezuelan prisons are notoriously overcrowded and filled with weapons and drugs. Riots leaving dozens dead are not uncommon.
State official Jesus Santander said the state of Carabobo was in mourning after the incident in the city of Valencia.
“Forensic doctors are determining the number of fatalities,” Santander said.
He added that a policeman was shot in the leg and was in a stable condition and firefighters had extinguished the flames.
Many Venezuelan prisons are lawless and have been for decades.
Prisoners often openly wield machine guns and grenades, use drugs and leave guards powerless.
“There are people who are inside those dungeons (…) and the authorities do not know they exist because they do not dare to enter,” said Humberto Prado, a local prisons rights activist.