2 Inmates Reportedly Killed In Nebraska Prison Disturbance

March 3 (Reuters) - Two inmates have been killed during a disturbance at a maximum security prison in Nebraska, the second deadly incident at the facility over the last two years, a local newspaper reported on Friday.

Correctional officers found the bodies of two inmates in the housing units where several altercations took place on Thursday afternoon after about 40 inmates refused to return to their cells at the Tecumseh State Prison in southeast Nebraska, according to the Omaha World-Herald.

“Any loss of life is tragic,” State Corrections Director Scott Frakes told a news conference shown on the newspaper’s website. The staff “have handled the situation extremely well which limited the incident to a small number of participants.”

Frakes described the deaths as murders but did not provide details about the incident or the identities of the deceased inmates.

The maximum/medium custody facility for men was the site of another deadly melee in May 2015, when as many as 200 inmates ransacked and started fires in two housing units. Two inmates also died during the incident.