January 20, 2009
LIBREVILLE (AFP) - Two French, a Chinese and a Thai prisoner were taken hostage Monday during a day-long jail riot that saw two people killed during a police siege in Gabon, west Africa, a government source said.
Rioters seized "women and foreign (detainees)," according to the source, with Interior Minister Andre Mba Obame telling AFP that "the toll is two dead and several wounded, who have been taken to hospital.
"We were close to catastrophe," he added. "There could have been many more deaths" save for dozens of special forces who fought their way into Libreville's main jail, according to an AFP correspondent and locals who reported hearing gunfire.
The jail, built in 1956 and re-designed to hold 700 inmates, has been known to hold double that number, according to reports.
