A hostage-taking has occurred in a penal colony in the Russian region of Volgograd.

The Russian Federal Penitentiary Service (FPS) said in a statement that several employees of the penitentiary were taken hostage by convicts during a meeting of the disciplinary commission. Measures are currently being taken to free the hostages, the service said.

According to the Russian news agency TASS, at least one prison employee was killed – a report apparently confirmed by the Russian Federal Penitentiary Service, which speaks of “victims”.

The incident occurred at the IK-19 facility, which is described as a “strict regime penal colony.”

You can see St. Basil's Cathedral on Red Square. A hostage situation occurs in a Russian penal colony.

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“According to preliminary information, the employees [of the Federal Penitentiary Service] were attacked by at least three prisoners serving their sentences in this colony,” an FPS employee told TASS.

The FPS has dispatched a team of staff from its headquarters to investigate the situation.

Reuters reported that previously unconfirmed footage shared on Russian social media channels purportedly shows at least four uniformed prison guards sitting or lying in pools of blood, with one of the attackers reportedly identifying himself as an Islamic State fighter.

The penal colony is located in the town of Surovikino, about 870 kilometers southeast of Moscow, and has a capacity of about 1,200 prisoners.

This is a developing message and will be updated.

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Update, 08/23/2024, 07:36 ET: This article has been updated with additional information.