More than 200 inmates escaped from a jail in Karachi, Pakistan, Monday after guards temporarily moved them to a courtyard because of earthquake tremors.
At least one prisoner was killed and 22 others were injured, including prison staff, Interior Minister of Sindh province Zia-ul-Hasan Lanjar told reporters on the scene. A total of 216 inmates fled Malir prison, which houses 6,000 inmates, to a nearby residential area. Eighty of the escaped prisoners have been apprehended so far.
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Superintendent of Malir prison, Arshad Shah, told reporters that “efforts are underway to recapture the remaining 136 prisoners.”
The escape happened around midnight and progressed into early Tuesday morning as more than 600 inmates were being transferred to another section of the prison. A group of inmates attacked prison staff and stole their guns, initiating a shootout and forcing the main gate of the prison open, police said.
Most of the escaped prisoners were facing drug charges and other smaller cases, the police chief said.
“I heard the firing for quite some time and then some time later prisoners made their way out running in all directions,” Bukhsh, a private security guard at a residential complex near the prison, told Reuters.
Bukhsh said multiple prisoners were able to enter the apartment complex before being recaptured by police. Throughout the night, local TV footage showed prisoners running through the area, some being chased by police.
Sharjeel Inam Memon, the Sindh province information minister, said if the prisoners returned to the facility within 24 hours of the escape, they would be safe from government action according to NBC News. Anyone who was recaptured after will face strict punishment.
“There will be an inquiry to see why and how this happened,” Ghulam Nabi Memon, the Sindh province police chief, said.
Over the past day the area experienced multiple mild earthquakes up to 3.4-magnitude, according to Pakistan’s National Seismic Monitoring Center.
Prison breaks are uncommon in Pakistan as security has been increased after the Pakistani Taliban helped a jailbreak of 200 prisoners in 2013 in another province. Lanjay said the Malir jailbreak was one of the largest the country has faced.