PESHAWAR, Pakistan — In excess of 200 prisoners managed to break out of a correctional facility in Pakistan on Monday following a series of tremors that hit the southern port city of Karachi, causing widespread alarm, as per local officials.
With more than 600 prisoners at Malir jail being relocated to another part of the prison for their safety in the wake of the quake, numerous inmates made an attempt to escape, Zia-ul-Hasan Lanjar, the interior minister of Sindh province, explained to reporters on Tuesday.
Currently, 80 of the fugitives have been recaptured, according to jail superintendent Arshad Shah, who addressed the media in Karachi and stated that “intense efforts continue to apprehend the remaining 136 inmates.”
One inmate was killed and 22 others, including prison and police personnel, were wounded in the ensuing chaos Monday night, Lanjar told reporters.
Ghulam Nabi Memon, the Sindh province police chief, said most of the inmates were facing drug charges and other smaller cases.
Memon said authorities have data on who exactly has escaped and will be able to bring them back.
“There will be an inquiry to see why and how this happened,” he said.
Sharjeel Inam Memon, the Sindh province information minister, said the inmates would be safe from government action if they returned to the prison within 24 hours, warning of strict punishment for those who did not.
Karachi experienced multiple mild and shallow earthquakes over the past day up to 3.4 in magnitude, according to Pakistan’s National Seismic Monitoring Center.
Prison breaks are rare in Pakistan, where security has been ramped up since 2013, when the Pakistani Taliban helped 200 inmates break free during an attack on a prison in another province.
Mushtaq Yusufzai reported from Peshawar, Pakistan, and Mithil Aggarwal reported from Hong Kong.
The Associated Press contributed.
