B.C. prison remains in lockdown after riot

Calm has been restored at a maximum-security prison in B.C. following a riot by about 30 prisoners on Saturday.

A tactical team ended the disturbance at the Fraser Regional Correctional Centre in Maple Ridge without serious injuries, a union spokesman for prison guards said Sunday.

"A riot inside a maximum security prison is very frightening and scary. It's a very dangerous situation," Dean Purdy, a spokesman for the B.C. Government Employees Union, told the CBC's Leslie Pritchard.

The RCMP said it appeared some prisoners were upset they were being transferred to another facility. 

While there have been complaints of overcrowding at the facility, it's not known whether that played a part in the angry confrontation. Purdy said the prison has a capacity of 430 inmates but held 65 more than that Saturday. 

At one point during the riot, prisoners could be seen breaking windows and throwing objects to other inmates in the yard below. Inmates took other inmates hostage and two small fires were started.

The uprising started about 10 a.m. local time and ended four hours later with prisoners either being put back in their cells or arrested by police.

Ambulance and fire crews were called to the prison as a precaution, but the police spokesman said neither service was necessary.

Both the RCMP and correctional centre officials will be investigating the cause of the disturbance.