A fight among inmates at a prison in northern Mexico killed 19 inmates and left more than 20 injured, Durango state officials said.

The battle apparently involved inmates jailed on drug or organised crime charges.

Durango State Public Safety Department spokeswoman Barbara Ramirez said only inmates – not prison guards – were killed and injured in Friday afternoon's clash at the prison in the city of Gomez Palacio, about 220 kilometres south of the Texas border.

State public safety secretary Jorge Torres Castillo said in an interview with the Televisa television network that the fighting was "a dispute for dominance" among inmates at the prison.

He suggested the presence of drug and organised crime suspects – who are being held on federal charges at a state-run, low-security prison – were responsible.

"We have a significant number of criminals linked to organised crime," Castillo said.

"I think it is precisely the federal inmates who disturb the internal dynamics of the penitentiary, and they place the governance of it at constant risk."

Ramirez said the facility had been secured and that no escapes were reported. Video from the scene showed smoke rising from the prison, and shots were heard as police surrounded the facility.

"The penitentiary at Gomez Palacio continues to be a time bomb," Castillo said, adding that state officials had previously asked that federal inmates be moved to other facilities.