(MENAFN) At least four inmates were killed on Sunday during a violent riot at a prison in Machala, the capital of Ecuador’s southern coastal province of El Oro, according to the country’s national prison authority, SNAI.

The disturbance erupted in the early hours at Prison No. 1 in Machala, SNAI said in an official statement.

Local media outlets reported that the violence was triggered by the "reorganization" and transfer of prisoners to a maximum-security facility. At least 40 people were injured during the clashes, the reports added.

In response to the escalating unrest, Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa on Tuesday declared a 60-day state of emergency across five coastal provinces and three municipalities in the central provinces of Cotopaxi and Bolivar, citing "grave internal unrest" fueled by mounting violence from organized crime.

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