UPDATE: A dramatic 15 hour siege at the Metropolitan Remand Centre in Ravenhall ended at 3am on Wednesday when Corrections Victoria took charge of all units.
About 300 prisoners overran the maximum security facility after lunchtime yesterday in protest of a new smoking ban enforced from today.
Footage posted online showed prisoners wearing t-shirts that covered their faces armed with sticks, rioting and breaking windows. Smoke billowed in the background where a fire had been lit.
Up to 200 prison officers were evacuated and a large contingent of emergency services surrounded the facility, including 14 fire appliances and another half a dozen police vans and police on motorcycles.
This morning fire crews returned to the scene of a blaze at the centre after inmates rioted and lit fires again.
At least nine CFA and MFB crews were dispatched to the prison for this incident.
Victoria Police assistant commissioner Stephen Leane said that it was a difficult and dangerous operation, much of it conducted in darkness, which needing to be carried out in a manner that did not place prison staff, Victoria Police and prisoners at undue risk.
“At this stage, three staff members suffered minor injuries, but these were not as a direct result of interaction with prisoners,” he said in a statement to the media.
“Several prisoners, however, were hurt and treated by medical staff. The full extent of their injuries is not known at this stage.”
Four prisoners were taken to nearby Port Phillip Prison for hospital treatment with dog bite wounds and another sustained a suspected broken jaw.
Mr Leane said that a large number of prisoners were transferred to other prisons as authorities assess damage to accommodation units and other prison infrastructure.
Prisoners caused substantial damage to some areas of the prison and it remains locked down.
Normal operations will resume when it is safe to do so, and in the meantime prisoners have access to necessary services.
Corrections Commissioner Jan Shuard praised the actions of prison staff, Victoria Police, and other emergency services officers for the professional way they behaved the tense situation.
“Yesterday’s events were totally unacceptable and we will learn from this incident,” she said.
Victoria Police commenced its criminal investigation and Corrections Victoria was conducting its own internal review.
