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

The photographer

A photographer who observed the aftermath of a large-scale Brazilian police operation in the metropolitan area has described how community members came back with disfigured remains of people who lost their lives.

The victims "kept coming: 25, 30, 35, 40, 45...", Bruno Itan reported. The total contained law enforcement personnel.

One of the bodies was discovered headless - while others appeared "completely mutilated", he reported. Several bodies showed what appeared to be blade trauma.

Over 120 individuals lost their lives during Tuesday's raid against a criminal group - the bloodiest action the municipality has seen.

The eyewitness explained that he initially learned about the operation early on Tuesday by residents living in Alemão, who contacted him informing him gunfire had erupted.

The photographer traveled to a local medical facility, where the casualties were coming in.

Itan explained that security forces blocked media personnel from accessing the operation zone, where the operation was under way.

"Law enforcement personnel established a perimeter and announced: 'The press are not allowed to pass'."

Nevertheless, the eyewitness, who spent his childhood in the area, reported he succeeded to enter into the restricted zone, where he stayed through the night.

He described during the night, community members began to search the hillside which divides Penha from the adjacent Alemão area for relatives whose whereabouts were unknown after the operation.

Residents of the Penha neighbourhood arranged the located casualties in a public space - the photographer's images show the reaction of the gathered crowd.

"The violence of what occurred affected me profoundly: the grief of relatives, mothers fainting, women carrying children, weeping, angry family members," the reporter recounted.

Bruno Itan

The state leader of the state announced that the massive police operation involving around 2,500 law enforcement members was intended to preventing a gang referred to as the criminal faction from growing their influence.

Initially, the Rio state government stated that sixty individuals plus four law enforcement personnel" had been killed in the raid.

They have since said that early calculations shows that 117 individuals have been killed.

Rio's public defender's office, that gives legal support to low-income residents, has estimated the total number of people killed at 132.

According to researchers, the gang stands as the sole illegal faction that in the past few years has succeeded to make territorial gains across the region.

It is widely considered one of the two largest gangs in Brazil, together with another major gang, and has a history extending half a century.

Per correspondent a specialist, who has been covering illegal operations in Rio extensively, the criminal organization "works as a system" with neighborhood bosses forming part of the gang and becoming "operational allies".

The organization concentrates largely on drug trafficking, but also smuggles weapons, gold, fuel, alcohol cigarettes.

According to the authorities, criminal affiliates are well armed and officials reported that throughout the operation, they faced assaults from explosive-laden drones.

The state leader of Rio state, Cláudio Castro, labeled organization participants as criminal extremists and referred to the four police officers who died during the operation as "heroes".

However, the count of fatalities in the security action has received condemnation from international human rights authorities stating they were "shocked".

During a press briefing on Wednesday, the official supported law enforcement.

"It wasn't our intention to cause fatalities. We intended to detain everyone safely," he declared.

He further explained that the events had escalated because the suspects fought back: "It occurred of the resistance they executed and the excessive violence by those criminals."

The governor additionally stated that the bodies displayed by locals in the area had been "tampered with".

In a post through digital channels, he asserted that certain victims had been removed of military-style attire that he stated they possessed "to redirect responsibility to security forces".

A law enforcement representative representing security forces further reported that "camouflage clothing, vests, and arms" were stripped from the casualties and displayed evidence apparently demonstrating a person cutting camouflage clothing {off a corpse