Prison staff held hostage in Ecuador freed -officials

STORY: Video released by the Ecuadorian military shows what it says was the demolition of a wall as part of an operation to free prison staff held hostage by inmates inside.

And the SNAI prison agency on Saturday said all hostages had been freed.

SNAI said 158 guards and 20 administrative staff had been seized since last Monday in several prisons.

This footage from Saturday shows an unnamed officer telling family members of the hostages about the successful release.

"Dear family members, the National Police together with the armed forces have freed the hostages. They had been deprived of their freedom for six days. They will be handed over to families, they have received a medical check-up. There has been no issue. This is a joint effort."

The incident is part of an escalating security crisis in the country that worsened this week.

Gunmen stormed a TV station on air, unexplained explosions were set off in several cities and police officers were kidnapped.

The government declared a state of emergency last week and said that so far, more than 1,000 people have been arrested.

Ecuadorean soldiers were patrolling at the shared border with Colombia on Saturday as part of the operation.