Greater than 200 inmates escape Pakistan jail after earthquake

Inmates broke down doorways and locks of their cells and shattered home windows earlier than storming the jail gates.

Reuters Men in plain clothes and some in police uniform are seen through a broken glass window with a hole created by some sort of impact. — Inmates broke down doorways and locks of their cells and shattered home windows earlier than storming the jail gates.

Greater than 200 prisoners escaped from a jail in Pakistan’s largest metropolis following an earthquake within the early hours of Tuesday, police stated.

Hundreds of inmates broke down doorways and the locks of their cells and shattered home windows after they felt tremors shake the partitions at Malir Jail in Karachi.

Of those that escaped the jail, police stated 80 inmates had been recaptured and searches had been ongoing for greater than 130 nonetheless at giant. One prisoner was killed within the operation and two jail officers injured.

A jail superintendent advised the BBC inmates started shouting from their cells and barracks round midnight as they had been terrified the constructing would collapse on prime of them.

Lots of the hundreds of prisoners returned to their cells after police responded to the violence with warning photographs.

EPA A group of men are seen crouched on the floor while behind prison cell bars. — Lots of the hundreds of prisoners returned to their cells after police responded to the violence with warning photographs.

After the frenzy turned violent, police stated they responded with warning photographs, firing weapons into the air.

Whereas many returned to their cells, others stormed the primary gate in panic – with 216 inmates utilizing the chance to flee the jail altogether.

Police are actually going door-to-door, visiting previous residences to arrest those that are nonetheless on the run.

The power within the Malir district is Sindh province’s second largest jail, and is over capability. Whereas it could possibly accommodate as much as 2,200 prisoners, there are at the least 5,000 inmates there at the moment.

Police say almost 80 inmates have been recaptured however one has been killed throughout their operation.

Reuters Police officers in uniform with rifles strapped around them stand outside large red and blue gates with a sign above them which reads "District Prison & Correctional Facility Malir Karachi". — Police say almost 80 inmates have been recaptured however one has been killed throughout their operation.

The minister for prisons within the province, Ali Hassan Zardari, has ordered an investigation and warned any officers at fault can be disciplined.

The jail’s superintendent advised the BBC the incident is “not a safety lapse, it is all as a consequence of a pure catastrophe”.

He stated safety groups on the jail had been on excessive alert, and responded to the incident all through.

Households have been protesting exterior the jail’s foremost gates, and police stated kin of different inmates are annoyed that visits have been postponed.

Extra reporting by Usman Zahid