Six inmates have been killed during prison riots across Italy over government measures to tackle the coronavirus outbreak.

Footage from Monday (March 9) shows inmates on the rooftop of the San Vittore prison, in the city center of Milan.

The filmer, Giuseppe Francaviglia, told Newsflare: "My office is not far from the prison, and this morning while I was working I heard a trail of sirens of firefighters and police heading towards San Vittore.

"I went to see what was going on and so I ran into the police and firefighters who blocked all the roads that pass near the prison.

"Some prisoners stood on the rooftop shouting slogans like "freedom freedom."

Italy's northern regions are in lockdown and on Sunday the government imposed limits on direct contact between inmates and their families.