Accra: Residents of the Penha favela in the Brazilian city of Rio de Janeiro, laid out at least 64 bodies on one of the neighbourhood’s main streets on Wednesday, after a bloody police operation.

According to Ghana News Agency, the state government had earlier confirmed that 60 suspects and four police officers had been killed, in the operation against the Comando Vermelho (Red Command) crime syndicate. It was initially unclear whether the bodies were additional victims, or whether they belonged to those killed the previous day.

Military police spokesman, Marcelo de Menezes Nogueira, told the broadcaster TV Globo that he believed they were deaths that had not yet been recorded. If this is confirmed, more than 120 people would have been killed in the police operation.

On Tuesday, security forces and criminals engaged in hours of fighting in the Alemo and Penha favelas, in northern Rio de Janeiro. At least 2,500 police officers were involved in the operation, which also included two helicopters and dozens of armoured vehicles. Criminals set barricades and cars on fire, dropped explosive devices from drones and opened fire on the officers.