Four killed in Mexican prison shoot-out

At least four people including three police officers have been killed in an hours-long prison shootout involving inmates and security forces in a northern Mexican border state, authorities said.

Loud, sustained bursts of gunfire could be heard from just outside the gates of the lock-up in Ciudad Victoria.

Heavily armed security forces stood guard.

A state police officer who emerged from the prison with scratches on his face said inmates were armed with automatic rifles.

State security spokesman Alberto Rodriguez said in an interview with Milenio TV that three state police officers and one unidentified person were killed and six others were wounded.

The wounded were also officers, said an official with the state prosecutor’s office.

A helicopter overflight showed what appeared to be white smoke rising from one building. Authorities closed nearby roads, and surrounding areas were under an evacuation alert.