At least 41 people were killed in a prison riot Tuesday in a women’s prison in Honduras. The government has called the attack a gang-led assault in response to its efforts against corruption in penal institutions.

Yuri Mora told Reuters that authorities are trying to identify the dead at the Centro Femenino de Adaptacion Social. This is a 900 person women’s prison located around 20 km (12 miles) away from the capital city Tegucigalpa.

Mora reported that the majority of those who died were burnt to death. Others were shot. A hospital spokesperson said that seven more people are being treated in a state-run hospital.

The President Xiomara said that the riot was planned by gangs with the knowledge of guards.

She tweeted: “I’ll take drastic measures.”

Castro’s first action late Tuesday was the replacement of security minister Ramon Antonio Sabillon by national police chief Gustavo Sanchez. Sabillon will now be in the foreign service.

Castro’s office announced that more measures would be announced on Wednesday to “combat organised crime and demolish the boycott against security that is fostered inside prisons.”

Julissa Villenueva said that the riots were likely a reaction to recent government crackdowns on prison corruption.

In the first half of this year, a commission was formed to raid prisons in order to take control away from powerful gangs, and remove corrupt security guards.

On Tuesday evening, relatives of prisoners were waiting outside the prison to inquire about their loved one.

In an interview with Honduras Channel 3 TV station, a woman identified as Ligia Rodriquez said: “I am looking for information on what happened to my child. But they have not informed us.”

Honduras is known for its deadly prison incidents. 18 inmates were reportedly killed during a gang war in a penitentiary, and over 350 died in an inferno in 2012.

(Reporting and writing by Gustavo Palencia, Isabel Woodford and Kylie Madry. Editing and proofreading by Rosalba Obrien and Christopher Cushing).