More than 100 prisoners escaped from a prison in the western part of Indonesia after they managed to overpower a guard during prayer time, police said Friday.
The break happened lat on Thursday at the Lambaro penitentiary when all 720 prisoners were let out of their cells to take part in evening prayers, said Trisno Riyanto, police chief in Banda Aceh, the capital of Aceh province.
The inmates, most of whom had been imprisoned for drug charges and apparently had planned their escape in advance. They cut through the wire and iron bars using barbells and crowbars in the reception room and made a dash through rice fields in front of the prison.
The guard’s injuries were not serious, police said. 26 of the prisoners who escaped have been recaptured and police set up roadblocks across Banda Aceh to hunt for the remaining prisoners.
Aceh provincial police chief Rio Septianda Djambak called on the escaped prisoners to surrender within three days and urged their relatives to work with authorities in bringing them back.
“We will not hesitate to take firm action to force them to obey the law,” Djambak said.
Jailbreaks are common in Indonesia, overcrowding has been a major problem in prisons. Prisons are struggling to cope with poor funding and an influx of people arrested in a war on drugs. Most prisoners have been convicted of drug charges.
-AP
