No fewer than 200 prisoners in Karachi, Pakistan have escaped after they were permitted to leave their cells following a series of earthquake tremors.
Zia-ul-Hasan Lanjar, the provincial law minister, told reporters at the scene that hundreds of prisoners were allowed into the jail courtyard due to the tremors.
“There was panic here because of earthquake tremors,” said Lanjar, adding that it was hard to control a throng of up to 1,000 people.
Accorrding to officials, the jailbreak began just before midnight on Monday and carried on till the early hours of Tuesday, he said.
Pakistani police said the detainees stole pistols from prison guards, resulting in a gunfight, and then pushed open the main gate.
A Reuters reporter on site on Tuesday reported seeing shattered glass and damaged electronic equipment inside the facility.
A meeting room, for prisoners to see their families, had been ransacked. Anxious family members gathered outside the jail on Tuesday.
Lanjar stated that this was one of the largest jailbreaks ever in Pakistan.
The prison is located in Karachi’s Malir neighbourhood, a low-income residential and industrial area.
CCTV footage also showed prisoners rushing across the region at night, some barefoot, while being pursued by police.
According to the clip, the police were able to round up some people and transport them to police trucks.
Ghulam Nabi Memon, the provincial police chief, stated that the majority of the convicts had committed minor crimes such as drug addiction.
Memon stated that the gunshot killed at least one prisoner and injured three prison workers.
Murad Ali Shah, the Pakistani provincial chief minister, stated that approximately 80 detainees had been apprehended thus far and that the prison authorities had made a mistake by allowing the criminals to leave their cells.
He warned the escapees still at large to hand themselves in or face a serious charge for breaking out.
