More than 100 escape in mass Haiti prison break
October 23, 2016
At least 174 inmates, according to the Reuters news agency, escaped from a prison in the central Haitian town of Arcahaie on Saturday. Authorities have launched a manhunt with the support of UN peacekeepers.
The inmates overpowered guards while being moved from an overcrowded holding pen to another area for bathing, killing one guard and capturing weapons.
One prisoner also died after falling off a wall during the escape.
Police have set up checkpoints around the prison and held several people without identification cards, but finding all the inmates may be difficult as they were not wearing prison uniforms.
Haitian prisons are notoriously overcrowded, with many suspected criminals spending years in pre-trial detention.
It was unclear if the inmates who broke out were convicted of serious crimes or were awaiting trial.
The prison in Arcahaie, some 20 kilometers (30 miles) north of Haiti's capital Port-au-Prince, held 266 inmates.
cw/cmk (AP, Reuters)