Daily US Times, Tegucigalpa, Honduras: At the least 18 inmates had been killed and 16 injured in an outbreak of gang violence at a jail in Honduras on Friday.

The fight at a jail in the city of Tela was one of the worst current outbreaks in the nation.

It follows a wave of jail violence in the country, where the jails are notoriously overcrowded.

The federal government had declared a state of emergency within the jail system on Wednesday, transferring management to the security forces.

A navy official instructed Reuters that they had not formally taken management of the jail in Tela earlier than the violence erupted.

However, safety forces have since been deployed to the jail to try to revive order, officers added.

Antonio Coello, a spokesman for safety company Fusina, confirmed the death toll in an interview with native broadcasters.

Honduras’ prisons home greater than 20,000 inmates, regardless of them solely having the capability for about 8,000.

Fights within the jails are frequent, as rival road gangs vie for management.