The South Carolina Department of Corrections says 12 inmates were left in prison cells with raw sewage.
Spokesman Dexter Lee tells The State newspaper that six cells at the Lieber Correctional Institution in Ridgeville were flooded with toilet water this month. This prison is one of several that have been locked down since seven inmates died in an April riot.
Inmates in videos of the spill say toilets spewed sewage for about 12 hours. The Corrections Department declined to say how long it took to fix the toilets. Lee says the prison had to wait for a crew from Columbia to help.
Inmates stuck in the affected cells were served their meals during that time. Lee says the sewage spill was caused by inmates in other cells repeatedly trying to flush clothing.