Abidjan (Ivory Coast), Jun 4 (AP) Five inmates at an Ivory Coast prison were killed when a routine search turned into a violent clash, authorities said on Wednesday.

Prisoners in Bouake, the country's second largest city, reacted with “hostility” to a routine search for prohibited items on Tuesday, public prosecutor Abel Nangbele Yeo said in a statement.

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Five prisoners were killed and 29 people, including six prison officers and 23 prisoners, were injured, the statement added.

When security officers arrived in the building, they were attacked by prisoners armed with clubs, machetes, and other blunt objects, the statement said.

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The officers fired warning shots “to cover their retreat,” the statement added, without providing details on how prisoners were killed.

As a result of the search, officers seized blocks of cannabis, Tramadol tablets, mobile phones and three grenades.

Ivory Coast has been criticised by rights groups and the UN for its prison conditions.

Last year, the UN Committee against Torture expressed concern over a “very high rate” of prison overcrowding in Ivory Coast, and criticised the condition, including poor sanitation, a lack of ventilation and inadequate quality food and water.

It also expressed alarm at “the extent of prison violence.”

Earlier this year, a prisoner died during an escape attempt from the Bouake prison.

The public prosecutor's office said on Tuesday that it had opened an investigation into Tuesday's events. (AP)

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)