QUITO, Feb. 23 (Xinhua) -- At least 67 prisoners died on Tuesday during violent riots in three Ecuadorian prisons due to clashes between rival gangs, Director of the Comprehensive Care Service for Adults Deprived of Liberty Edmundo Moncayo said at a press conference at the government palace in Quito.

Tear gas rises from parts of Turi jail where an inmate riot broke out in Cuenca, Ecuador, Tuesday, Feb. 23, 2021. (Photo: Agencies)

"The numbers are totally awful and I have to painfully report a total of 67 people dead in the three centers of confinement," Moncayo said.

The deaths occurred in social rehabilitation centers in the provinces of Guayas (southwest), Cotopaxi (center) and Azuay (south), where about 70 percent of the country's prison population is concentrated.