Major brawl in Malaga province jail sees chairs flying and bleach splashed in inmates' eyes

Crime

The fight between two groups of prisoners injured several individuals and at least six were sent to solitary confinement

María José Díaz Alcalá

A major fight broke out at the Alhaurín de la Torre prison on Tuesday evening when two groups of inmates clashed in a violent brawl.

According to reports, prisoners threw chairs and splashed bleach into each other's eyes. Several inmates suffered serious injuries, including cuts requiring treatment and a broken nose.

Prison authorities have placed at least six prisoners in solitary confinement, although that number could rise once they review the CCTV footage.

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  • The Tu Abandono Me Puede Matar (TAMPM) prison officers' union said the swift and professional response by prison staff and senior officers prevented the incident from becoming even more serious.

    However, it said staff first had to evacuate the injured prisoners to the prison infirmary, where the duty doctor was already dealing with other serious emergencies and struggled to cope with the sudden influx of inmates needing urgent medical treatment.

    The union said the incident highlighted the difficulties facing Spain's prison service. It stated that prisons lack the resources, specialist training and dedicated intervention teams needed to deal with high-risk disturbances, and called for a major overhaul of the system.

    It also said the nature of crime in the Costa del Sol has changed in recent years and warned that prisons must adapt accordingly, arguing that prison officers face extremely violent incidents without adequate resources.

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