A massive riot that erupted at a prison located in Central Venezuela has left around 40 people dead and over 50 people injured.

A National Guard officer sustained injuries from an explosion, and the warden was also injured after he was stabbed by an armed inmate.

The incident happened at the Llanos Penitentiary on Friday, when an inmate protested that their relatives should be allowed to deliver food to them.

An armed confrontation then broke out between the guards and the inmates.

The incident was confirmed by Maria Beatriz Martinez, a lawmaker in the country.

Martinez said that the National Guard was injured by a grenade explosion.

The prison is located in the city of Guanare, 450 kilometers south-west of the capital of Caracas.

Venezuela’s minister of penitentiary services, Iris Varela, also confirmed the riot.

She said that a group of inmates attacked officers that were standing outside the prison.

The warden was injured by one inmate after a wielding knife stab.

The Guanare prison was built to hold 750 inmates, but according to reports, it has over 2,500 inmates.