Ten inmates at a Mexican prison have seized guards during Christmas visiting.

The staff were disarmed and held hostage by the prisoners who are demanding their freedom.

Hundreds of visitors, many of them children, were evacuated from the building in Reclusorio Sur as police fired teargas in an effort to quell the disturbance.

About 600 officers surrounded the prison during a stand-off which lasted throughout Friday night.

Reports say about 12 staff were overpowered, including prison doctors and nurses.

But the city's director of prisons, Jaime Alvarez Ramos, said it was just four, although one person had been injured.