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PORT MORESBY - Eleven inmates at Papua New Guinea's largest jail have taken advantage of a prisoners' religious service to cut a hole in a perimeter fence and escape.
The break-out of eight convicted criminals and three remandees from Bomana Prison outside Port Moresby took place around 1.30pm (330 NZT) yesterday.
The jail's commanding officer Chief Superintendent Michael Mosiri said three inmates were recaptured soon afterwards and prison officers and police were continuing to hunt for those still at large.
One of the escapees was a convicted murderer while the others were inside for offences ranging from armed robbery to illegal use of motor vehicles, he said.
"They cut through the fence and made their escape while our attention was on the prisoners' religious service."
Security was being reviewed following the escape and any prison officers found to have breached prison rules would be dealt with accordingly, Mosiri said.
Stopwork action by Bomana warders this week to protest their claims for unpaid allowances had no connection with the escape, he told AAP.
But prison officers told PNG's newspaper The National that the escapees may have taken advantage of a warders' protest meeting yesterday morning to cut the hole in the wire before escaping during the religious service in the afternoon.
Mass prison break-outs and escapes from police lock-ups are a regular occurrence in PNG.
Last month, 42 high-risk prisoners escaped from Baisu Jail in Western Highlands Province following a confrontation with warders over the death of an ill remandee.
The inmates cut through cell block bars and perimeter security fences under cover of darkness and most remain at large.
Police Commissioner Gari Baki said he was angered by the Baisu break-out at a time when security forces were stretched enough preparing for national elections starting on June 30.
In January 2005, prison authorities admitted that negligence by prison officers led to a mass jailbreak by 65 inmates at Bomana after they cut through a fence.
- AAP
