More than 200 escape Pakistan prison after earthquakes
More than 200 inmates have escaped from a prison in the Pakistan city of Karachi after they were temporarily moved out of their cells following earthquake tremors, officials say.
Kashif Abbasi, a senior police official, said 216 inmates fled the prison in the capital of Sindh province. Of those, 78 had been recaptured.
One prisoner was killed and three security officials were wounded in a shootout but the situation has been brought under control, Abbasi said.
He added that police are conducting raids to capture the remaining escapees.
Minister, Zia-ul-Hasan Lanjar, told reporters the prison break was one of Pakistan's largest.
Lanjar said the jailbreak occurred after prisoners were evacuated from their cells for safety during an earthquake. The inmates were still outside of the cells when a group suddenly attacked guards, seized their weapons, opened fire and fled.
Karachi experienced several mild earthquakes over the past 24 hours, ranging from 2.6 to 3.4 in magnitude, according to the National Seismic Monitoring Centre.
Prison beaks are not common in Pakistan, where authorities have enhanced security since 2013 when the Taliban freed more than 200 inmates in an attack on a prison in the northwestern Dera Ismail Khan district.
More than 200 inmates have escaped from a prison in the Pakistan city of Karachi after they were temporarily moved out of their cells following earthquake tremors, officials say.
Kashif Abbasi, a senior police official, said 216 inmates fled the prison in the capital of Sindh province. Of those, 78 had been recaptured.
One prisoner was killed and three security officials were wounded in a shootout but the situation has been brought under control, Abbasi said.
He added that police are conducting raids to capture the remaining escapees.
Minister, Zia-ul-Hasan Lanjar, told reporters the prison break was one of Pakistan's largest.
Lanjar said the jailbreak occurred after prisoners were evacuated from their cells for safety during an earthquake. The inmates were still outside of the cells when a group suddenly attacked guards, seized their weapons, opened fire and fled.
Karachi experienced several mild earthquakes over the past 24 hours, ranging from 2.6 to 3.4 in magnitude, according to the National Seismic Monitoring Centre.
Prison beaks are not common in Pakistan, where authorities have enhanced security since 2013 when the Taliban freed more than 200 inmates in an attack on a prison in the northwestern Dera Ismail Khan district.
More than 200 inmates have escaped from a prison in the Pakistan city of Karachi after they were temporarily moved out of their cells following earthquake tremors, officials say.
Kashif Abbasi, a senior police official, said 216 inmates fled the prison in the capital of Sindh province. Of those, 78 had been recaptured.
One prisoner was killed and three security officials were wounded in a shootout but the situation has been brought under control, Abbasi said.
He added that police are conducting raids to capture the remaining escapees.
Minister, Zia-ul-Hasan Lanjar, told reporters the prison break was one of Pakistan's largest.
Lanjar said the jailbreak occurred after prisoners were evacuated from their cells for safety during an earthquake. The inmates were still outside of the cells when a group suddenly attacked guards, seized their weapons, opened fire and fled.
Karachi experienced several mild earthquakes over the past 24 hours, ranging from 2.6 to 3.4 in magnitude, according to the National Seismic Monitoring Centre.
Prison beaks are not common in Pakistan, where authorities have enhanced security since 2013 when the Taliban freed more than 200 inmates in an attack on a prison in the northwestern Dera Ismail Khan district.
More than 200 inmates have escaped from a prison in the Pakistan city of Karachi after they were temporarily moved out of their cells following earthquake tremors, officials say.
Kashif Abbasi, a senior police official, said 216 inmates fled the prison in the capital of Sindh province. Of those, 78 had been recaptured.
One prisoner was killed and three security officials were wounded in a shootout but the situation has been brought under control, Abbasi said.
He added that police are conducting raids to capture the remaining escapees.
Minister, Zia-ul-Hasan Lanjar, told reporters the prison break was one of Pakistan's largest.
Lanjar said the jailbreak occurred after prisoners were evacuated from their cells for safety during an earthquake. The inmates were still outside of the cells when a group suddenly attacked guards, seized their weapons, opened fire and fled.
Karachi experienced several mild earthquakes over the past 24 hours, ranging from 2.6 to 3.4 in magnitude, according to the National Seismic Monitoring Centre.
Prison beaks are not common in Pakistan, where authorities have enhanced security since 2013 when the Taliban freed more than 200 inmates in an attack on a prison in the northwestern Dera Ismail Khan district.
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