A photographer who witnessed the aftermath of a massive Brazilian police operation in Rio de Janeiro has told the BBC of how residents came back with mutilated bodies of those who had died.
The bodies kept coming: 25, 30, 35, 40, 45..., Bruno Itan told BBC Brasil. They included those of police officers.
One of the bodies had been decapitated - others were totally disfigured, he said. Many also had what he says were stab wounds.
More than 120 people were killed during Tuesday's raid on a criminal gang - the deadliest such raid in the city.
Bruno Itan told BBC Brasil that he was first alerted to the raid early on Tuesday by residents of the Alemão neighbourhood, who sent him messages telling him there was a shoot-out.
The photographer made his way to the Getúlio Vargas hospital, where the bodies were arriving.
Itan says that the police stopped members of the press from entering the Penha neighbourhood, where the operation was underway. Police officers formed a line and said: 'The press doesn't get past here.' However, Itan, who grew up in the area, managed to enter the cordoned-off zone, where he remained until the next morning.
That evening, local residents began searching the hillside between Penha and the nearby Alemão neighbourhood for missing relatives. Residents of Penha laid the recovered bodies in a nearby square, and Itan's photographs captured the profound grief and distress of the families affected.
The brutality of it all impacted me a lot: the sorrow of the families, mothers fainting, pregnant wives, crying, outraged parents, Itan recalled.
The governor of Rio state, Cláudio Castro, stated that the operation aimed to tackle a criminal group known as Comando Vermelho (Red Command) and that initial figures from officials listed 60 suspects and four police officers killed. However, numbers have since risen, with estimates now claiming 132 total fatalities.
The raid involved 2,500 security personnel and has been criticized internationally, with the United Nations Human Rights Office expressing horror over the civilian casualties. Governor Castro defended the police actions, claiming that the intent was to arrest suspects, not kill.
As tensions mount, Brazilian authorities are being called upon to provide a transparent investigation into what has been labeled a disastrous day for public safety in Rio.
