On Monday evening, one of the largest prison escapes in the country's history took place in the city of Karachi, southern Pakistan. More than 200 prisoners disappeared after a series of powerful earthquakes that caused chaos and panic in the institution. This was reported by UNN with reference to Reuters.
Details
During the earthquakes, the prison administration, fearing collapses, allowed about a thousand convicts to temporarily leave their cells and go to the courtyard. This decision, made for security reasons, turned out to be fatal - the guards failed to maintain control over the crowd.
In the chaos, several prisoners managed to seize weapons, resulting in a shootout. According to preliminary data, one prisoner died, and three prison employees were injured. After that, the attackers opened the main gate, and the escape became massive.
Law enforcement agencies reported that the escape began around midnight and lasted until the morning of Tuesday. At the moment, more than 200 convicts have disappeared, despite all the efforts of the administration to restore control over the situation.
The prison where the incident occurred is located in a densely populated and socially vulnerable area of Karachi, Pakistan's largest city. Many of the fugitives took advantage of the tangled network of narrow streets and industrial areas to avoid arrest. Some of them fled barefoot, leaving traces in the darkness of the night city.
By dawn, the police were able to detain approximately 80 fugitives and return them to prison. The rest remain at large, and a large-scale operation is underway in the city to search for them.
Let us remind you
In Maiduguri, northeastern Nigeria, in September 2024, a flood destroyed the walls of a prison, which allowed 281 prisoners to escape. Security forces have already detained seven fugitives, and the search for the rest continues.