The bodies just kept coming - eyewitness describes lethal Rio security action

The eyewitness

An eyewitness who documented the results of a massive law enforcement action in the metropolitan area has described how residents came back with disfigured remains of those who had died.

The casualties "kept piling up: the count kept increasing", Bruno Itan reported. Among them were law enforcement personnel.

One individual was discovered headless - while others appeared "severely damaged", he reported. Several bodies showed what appeared to be stab wounds.

Over 120 individuals lost their lives in the Tuesday operation on a criminal gang - the most lethal operation in the city.

The eyewitness explained that he was first alerted concerning the action early on Tuesday by community members from the Alemão area, who contacted him alerting him an armed confrontation was occurring.

The reporter went to a local medical facility, where the bodies were coming in.

The photographer stated that the police stopped members of the press from going into the affected area, where the operation were occurring.

"Security forces formed a line and declared: 'Media representatives doesn't get past here'."

But Itan, who spent his childhood in the community, stated he managed to make his way into the cordoned-off area, where he remained until the next morning.

He described that Tuesday night, community members commenced searching the elevated terrain that borders the Penha neighborhood from the neighboring Alemão community for relatives who were unaccounted for following the security action.

Residents living in Penha proceeded to place the recovered bodies in a public space - the documented evidence display the reaction of the gathered crowd.

"The violence of it all impacted me a lot: the pain of the families, parents losing consciousness, women carrying children, weeping, angry family members," the reporter recounted.

Bruno Itan

The official of the region stated that the massive police operation with approximately 2,500 security personnel was designed to halting a gang referred to as Comando Vermelho from expanding its territory.

Initially, the Rio state government claimed that sixty alleged criminals and four police officers" lost their lives during the action.

They have since said that initial estimates suggests that 117 alleged criminals were fatally injured.

Rio's public defender's office, which provides legal assistance to the poor, has estimated the overall count of people killed as 132.

According to researchers, Red Command represents the unique criminal entity which in recent years has been able to expand its territory across the region.

Experts commonly view among the biggest criminal organizations in Brazil, in company with another major gang, with a background dating back more than 50 years.

Based on Brazilian journalist a specialist, who has been covering criminal activity in the city extensively, the gang "functions as a network" with area gang leaders affiliating with the group and acting as "commercial associates".

The gang engages primarily in narcotics distribution, while also dealing in weapons, gold, fuel, beverages cigarettes.

According to the authorities, organization members are well armed and officials reported that throughout the operation, they came under attack from explosive-laden drones.

The governor of the state, the political leader, characterized Red Command members as criminal extremists and described the four police officers fatally injured in the action as courageous individuals.

But the number of fatalities in the security action has come in for criticism with the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights stating they were "horrified".

At a news conference the following day, Governor Castro justified security actions.

"We did not plan to result in deaths. We intended to take suspects into custody without harm," he said.

He continued that the situation worsened because the suspects fought back: "It was a consequence of the counterattack they executed and the overwhelming response by the illegal group."

The governor further reported that the bodies presented by community members in the neighborhood were "altered".

In a post on social media, he claimed that particular individuals had been stripped of the camouflage clothing that he stated they possessed "to transfer accusation toward law enforcement".

A law enforcement representative of Rio's civil police force also said that military attire, vests, and firearms" were stripped from the victims and showed footage apparently demonstrating an individual stripping military attire {off a corpse