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A Waikeria prison complex has been almost completely destroyed after a riot that has lasted nearly 24 hours.
The prison remains closed as a tense standoff continues with 16 prisoners, who remain on a roof.
Most of the ‘upper jail’ facility, where inmates started fires since Tuesday afternoon, appears damaged, with entire wings ruined by flames.
Stuff He understands that row after row of roofs have collapsed, with the interior of most of the facility’s buildings destroyed and charred.
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Christel Yardley / THINGS
Fire crews have been called to the Waikeria prison, northeast of Otorohanga (file photo).
An entire wing, at least 100 meters long, appears to be destroyed and the roof is now a tangle of rubble.
The roof of another building, perhaps a rec room or gym, was mostly burned to ash and is now inside the building.
Smoke still comes out of that building and several others.
Eight fire trucks are in close proximity to the building, and two appear to be tanker trucks.
The riots began around 2 pm Tuesday when fires broke out in the ‘upper jail’ facility in an exercise yard.
Inmates also set mattresses on fire, the Department of Corrections said.
The upper jail facility is one of the oldest parts of the prison, it was built in 1911 and was to be replaced with a new facility scheduled to open in 2022.
Tom Lee / Stuff
On Tuesday, a fire broke out in an exercise yard at the Waikeria prison.
A spokesperson for the Department of Corrections said Stuff Wednesday morning that while the condition of the building still needed to be assessed, it was unlikely that the prisoners could be held there again.
The spokesman said 16 non-compliant prisoners remained on the roof after four prisoners surrendered to staff overnight.
He said that Fire and Emergency NZ could not enter the building to assess the extent of the fire or damage because the prison “was not safe.”
“Corrections cannot get FENZ to upper jail until non-compliant prisoners surrender.”
He understood that Fire and Emergency were monitoring the fire from the outside.
There are 17 fire trucks on scene.
Corrections Minister Kelvin Davis will not comment until the situation is resolved, a spokesman said.
On Wednesday morning, a Corrections statement said there had been no loss of life or injury to staff or prisoners, yet damage to facilities in the area of the riots was “significant.”
Tom Lee / THINGS
A member of the New Zealand Fire and Emergency (Fenz) staff arrives at Waikeria Prison Tuesday night.
The statement said 49 prisoners, not involved in the riot, were evacuated from the “upper jail” facility to another unit in the prison on Tuesday afternoon.
Another 163 men were temporarily transferred to other locations within the prison.
“Throughout these movements, the men remained calm and docile and understood that their safety and well-being were our highest priority.”
Fire and Emergency NZ, Police and St John remain in prison and are working closely with Corrections staff.
By late Tuesday, nineteen prisoners were spotted on the roof of the building.
“This includes those who were involved in lighting a yard fires before [Tuesday], along with several others who were able to get out of their cells with help. “
Prisoners lighting mattresses caused a great deal of smoke.
The rest of the prison, which is spread over a large rural area, was also calm, Corrections said.
Waikeria’s prison population numbers around 750 inmates, representing approximately 7.2% of the country’s prison population.
