Rioting and a fire at a police headquarters in the Venezuelan city of Valencia, in Carabobo State, have left 68 individuals dead, government authorities say.

Chief State Prosecutor Tarek Saab said an investigation concerning what had happened would start quickly.

The blaze purportedly began after prisoner inmates set fire to beddings trying to break out on Wednesday.

Police utilized tear gas to scatter relatives who encompassed the station after news of the fire broke.

State official Jesus Santander affirmed a cop had been shot in the aftermath of the blaze, which has been brought under control.

He said the province of Carabobo was in grieving after the occurrence.

Relatives of the detainees said numerous prisoners had passed on due to smoke inhalation.

A few children and women who were visiting the prisoners are believed to be among the dead.

Venezuela’s jails are famously stuffed, with brutality and lethal uproars are normal.

The nation has attempted to oblige its detainees in the midst of a progressing financial emergency, prompting convicts being held at impermanent facilities, for example, the one in Valencia.

Carlos Nieto, head of the association Una Ventana a la Libertad (A Window on Freedom), says some police offices are overfilled at five times their ability.

A month ago, detainees at an alternate jail in Carabobo took various detainees and guards hostage in another riot.