At least six people died in an overcrowded Guatemala prison on Sunday as prisoners, some armed with AK-47 assault rifles, rioted.

Special police forces and the army were sent to take control of the prison, a spokesman for Guatemala's prisons said.

The prison, about 40 miles (65 km) south of Guatemala's capital city, houses 3,092 prisoners but it has capacity for 600.

Guatemala awarded Mexican construction company ICA, which has been struggling under a heavy debt burden, a multi-million dollar contract to expand the prison late last year, according to official contract data.