The casualties continued piling up - photographer recounts fatal Rio security action

The eyewitness

A reporter who witnessed the aftermath of an extensive security raid in Rio de Janeiro has reported how community members came back with disfigured remains of those who had died.

The victims "kept piling up: the count kept increasing", the photographer reported. Among them were law enforcement personnel.

One of the bodies was discovered headless - additional victims were "completely mutilated", he explained. Many also had evidence of knife injuries.

More than 120 people were fatally injured in the Tuesday operation targeting an illegal organization - the bloodiest action in the city.

Bruno Itan stated that he initially learned concerning the action in the early hours by residents of the Alemão neighbourhood, who sent him messages telling him there was a shoot-out.

The photographer went to the Getúlio Vargas hospital, where the bodies were coming in.

Itan explained that the police blocked media personnel from accessing the operation zone, where the security measures were taking place.

"Security forces formed a line and said: 'The press doesn't get past here'."

But Itan, who was raised in the community, stated he managed to gain access past the security perimeter, where he remained until dawn.

He explained that Tuesday night, community members commenced searching the elevated terrain that borders the Penha neighborhood from the neighboring Alemão community for relatives whose whereabouts were unknown since the police raid.

Community members of the Penha neighbourhood organized the recovered bodies in an open area - the documented evidence show the response of the people there.

"The violence of the situation impacted me a lot: the pain of the families, parents losing consciousness, women carrying children, crying, outraged parents," the photographer recalled.

Bruno Itan

The state leader of the region announced that the large-scale security action involving around 2,500 law enforcement members was aimed at halting a criminal group called Red Command from increasing their control.

At first, state authorities claimed that sixty individuals plus four law enforcement personnel" lost their lives in the raid.

They have since said that initial estimates indicates that 117 individuals lost their lives.

Rio's public defender's office, which provides legal assistance to disadvantaged individuals, has estimated the overall count of people killed as 132.

Based on expert analysis, the gang represents the unique criminal entity which in recent years has been able to increase its control in the state of Rio de Janeiro.

It is generally regarded as a major illegal faction nationally, together with another major gang, with a background extending half a century.

Per Brazilian journalist Rafael Soares, who has been covering crime in Rio for years, Red Command "functions as a network" with neighborhood bosses forming part of the gang and serving as "operational allies".

The organization engages primarily in illegal drug trade, while also dealing in firearms, precious metals, energy resources, liquor and tobacco.

Based on official reports, criminal affiliates have substantial firearms and officials reported that during the raid, they came under attack via weaponized unmanned aircraft.

The state leader of the state, Cláudio Castro, characterized organization participants as "narcoterrorists" and described the law enforcement personnel who died during the operation as "heroes".

But the number of people killed in the security action has received condemnation with the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights expressing they felt "shocked".

At a news conference the next day, Governor Castro justified security actions.

"There was no objective to kill anyone. We aimed to detain everyone safely," he declared.

He continued that the situation worsened due to the alleged criminals had retaliated: "It occurred of the counterattack they carried out and the overwhelming response by the illegal group."

The governor additionally stated that the bodies presented by community members in the neighborhood had been "tampered with".

Via a statement on online platforms, he said that some of them had been stripped of military-style attire which he claimed they wore "in order to shift blame to security forces".

A police official of Rio's civil police force additionally stated that military attire, vests, and firearms" were stripped from the victims and presented video apparently demonstrating a man stripping military attire {off a corpse