LABUHAN RUKU: Up to 30 prisoners escaped from an overcrowded jail on Indonesia’s Sumatra island yesterday after riots erupted, in the country’s third prison breakout in recent weeks.
“Several” prisoners were recaptured soon after they escaped, officials said, but the rest were on the run. It was not clear what offences the escapees had committed, although the prison is not high-security. Police and soldiers were still battling to regain control of Labuhan Ruku prison after the inmates rampaged through the jail, attacking warders and starting fires. Television pictures showed several parts of the building on fire and plumes of smoke hanging over it. Police and soldiers outside fired warning shots into the air.
“About 25 to 30 people took advantage of the situation and escaped, police managed to recapture several of them,” said Denny Indrayana, deputy justice and human rights minister.
AFP
