Honduran authorities say at least 13 people have died at a prison after armed inmates started a fire during a riot Thursday.

San Pedro Sula police commissioner Yair Mesa says there are at least 13 dead, but the riot has been brought under control.

Inmates began fighting among themselves and tossed the severed head of one prisoner over the walls of the jail as they held firefighters at bay, according to one report.

La Prensa de Honduras reported the riot occurred after a fight broke out between groups of inmates following the discovery of the decapitated body of Mario Alvarez in a cell.

The fire, which allegedly occurred in the prison kitchen, according to La Prensa, was controlled by firefighters who had to leave the jail because of threats from inmates.

The grisly scene at the prison in the northern city of San Pedro Sula came 1 1/2 months after Honduras' overcrowded prisons were hit by the worst prison fire in a century, a Feb. 14 blaze at the Comayagua farm prison that killed 361 inmates.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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