MOSCOW, August 23. /TASS/. Several inmates at a maximum-security penal colony (IK-19) in the Volgograd Region have taken the facility’s staff hostage, the press service of Russia’s Federal Penitentiary Service (FSIN) told TASS.

TASS has gathered the key facts about the incident.

Circumstances

- Several prisoners at IK-19 in the Volgograd Region captured the staff of the prison.

- The emergency occurred at a meeting of the prison’s disciplinary commission.

- Emergency response services reported that there were at least three attackers.

- Information is being gathered to better understand the situation.

- An operation to release the hostages is being carried out.

Casualties

- According to emergency response services, one employee was killed.

- The FSIN reported some casualties.

- Four victims have been taken to the Central Regional Hospital.

The investigation

- The Investigative Committee initiated a case on hostage-taking (part 4 of article 206 and part 3 of article 321 of the Russian Criminal Code).

- The FSIN has dispatched officials from its central office to the Volgograd Region.

The prison

- The IK-19 maximum-security prison is located in the town of Surovikino, the Volgograd Region.

- According to open sources, the facility has an inmate count of over 1,200.