The casualties continued piling up - photographer recounts fatal Rio police raid

The photographer

A reporter who witnessed the results of a massive security raid in Rio de Janeiro has reported how residents brought back disfigured remains of those who had died.

The victims "kept piling up: the numbers kept rising", Bruno Itan reported. They included security forces.

One individual was found without a head - while others appeared "severely damaged", he explained. Numerous victims displayed evidence of knife injuries.

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

Bruno Itan stated that he initially learned concerning the action early on Tuesday by residents living in Alemão, who reached out informing him there was a shoot-out.

The photographer traveled to the healthcare center, where the casualties were coming in.

The eyewitness reported that security forces stopped members of the press from accessing the Penha neighborhood, where the operation were occurring.

"Police officers created a barrier and declared: 'Media representatives cannot proceed beyond this point'."

Nevertheless, the eyewitness, who grew up in the community, stated he succeeded to gain access past the security perimeter, where he continued through the night.

He described during the night, community members started looking the mountainous area which divides the Penha neighborhood from the nearby Alemão neighbourhood for loved ones whose whereabouts were unknown following the security action.

Local people of the Penha neighbourhood arranged the discovered victims in an open area - the documented evidence show the reaction of the people there.

"The harsh reality of the situation affected me a lot: the pain of loved ones, mothers fainting, pregnant wives, crying, angry family members," the reporter recounted.

The photographer

The official of the state declared that the massive police operation involving around 2,500 security personnel was designed to stopping a criminal group known as Comando Vermelho from increasing their control.

At first, local officials stated that "60 suspects along with four officers" had been killed in the operation.

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

Rio's public defender's office, which provides legal assistance to the poor, has calculated the overall count of fatalities to be 132.

Based on expert analysis, Red Command is the only criminal group that recently has managed to increase its control in the state of Rio de Janeiro.

Experts commonly view as a major illegal faction in the country, together with First Capital Command, featuring a timeline extending half a century.

According to Brazilian journalist a specialist, who has been covering crime in Rio for years, the gang "works as a system" with local criminal leaders affiliating with the group and becoming "commercial associates".

The criminal group focuses mainly on narcotics distribution, additionally trafficking firearms, valuable minerals, petroleum products, beverages cigarettes.

Per law enforcement statements, gang members possess significant weaponry and authorities stated that during the raid, they faced assaults from explosive-laden drones.

The state leader of the state, the political leader, labeled organization participants as "narcoterrorists" and called the law enforcement personnel killed in the raid as courageous individuals.

But the number of people killed in the operation has come in for criticism from UN human rights officials saying it was "appalled".

In a media appearance the following day, Governor Castro defended the police force.

"There was no objective to kill anyone. We wanted to detain everyone safely," he stated.

He continued that the circumstances had escalated as the individuals resisted aggressively: "It was a consequence of the resistance they executed and the excessive violence by the illegal group."

The official also said that the bodies displayed by locals in Penha had been "manipulated".

Via a statement on social media, he claimed that some of them had been taken of the camouflage clothing he said they had been wearing "to redirect responsibility to security forces".

A police official of Rio's civil police force also said that "camouflage clothing, protective equipment, and arms" were stripped from the victims and showed footage appearing to show a person removing tactical gear {off a corpse