Moscow, Aug 24 : Four staff members at a maximum-security prison (IK-19) in the Volgograd region died after four inmates took the employees hostage, the Russian Federal Penitentiary Service (FSIN) has said in a statement. The perpetrators were later eliminated in a special operation.

The four prisoners took eight prison employees and four convicts hostage on Friday. All of the four convicts were injured, Xinhua news agency reported, citing the Federal Penitentiary Service.

"The criminals inflicted stab wounds of varying severity on four employees, three of whom died. Another four who resisted were hospitalised, one of whom died in the hospital," it said.

The four perpetrators were eliminated in a special operation carried out by federal prison staff and the Russian National Guard.

The Russian Investigative Committee has initiated a criminal case into the incident.

/IANS