Russian authorities announced a manhunt on Saturday after six convicts escaped their correctional facility through a secret tunnel, and two of them were later captured. Temporary search posts have been set up, while local law enforcement is in hot pursuit of the remaining fugitives.
“I realize that the news may cause concern, but I ask you not to panic,” said Igor Artamonov, governor of the western Lipetsk region. “Security forces are continuing efforts to track down and detain the criminals,” he added.
Prison guards were alerted to their disappearance after carrying out a routine inspection. “In general regime penal colony No. 2, an underground tunnel was discovered during a patrol of the premises,” the prison service of the Lipetsk region said. “Immediately a count of convicts got underway, which revealed the absence of six inmates,” it added.
It did not reveal their identities but said in a statement that the suspects were “from Central Asia.” Two of the escapees have already been detained in the neighboring Tambov region, the local governor said.
The Lipetsk region is about 300 kilometers (190 miles) south of Moscow. Russia has one of the highest prison populations in the world at more than 400,000 people last year, but numbers have decreased as convicts are sent to fight in Ukraine. Escapes are relatively rare in Russia, and those who manage to break out are often quickly caught.
(AFP)