Waikeria uprising: Eyewitness reports new fire at prison as protests continue
2 Jan, 2021 05:55 PM
6 minutes to read
NZ Herald
A fresh fire broke out at Waikeria Prison last night, according to an eye-witness, after days of unrest at the facility.
A group of 16 inmates are still evading capture on the jail s roof after starting a riot and lighting damaging fires in the prison yard on Tuesday afternoon.
Adrien Disher, who lives nearby Waikeria Prison, said he spotted another fire at Waikeria last night.
Adrian Disher, who lives about 3km from the prison, said a new fire began last night and he saw emergency services heading to the site about 7pm.
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Corrections said on Friday that prisoners have forcibly entered restricted areas with tactical equipment, constructed makeshift weapons that we believe they are planning to use against staff , and accessed a medical dispensary where controlled drugs are stored. While the group state that they are protesting conditions at the prison and not rioting, their actions are clearly violent, incident controller Jeanette Burns said.
The department said earlier this week that no staff or prisoners had been injured, but on Friday said a prisoner who surrendered on Thursday was assaulted by other inmates who attempted to prevent him from leaving .
Collins believes Davis needs to front up and explain how this loss of control happened and what he s going to do to fix it .