Twelve prisoners have died from gunshot wounds after breaking out of Buimo Jail in Papua New Guinea’s second-largest city of Lae.
A further 18 were wounded as police and prison guards battled to recapture the 94 men who escaped after attacking guards at the prison’s main gate on February 25.
PNG’s Corrections Commissioner Bernard Nepo said the wounded were taken to Lae’s Angau hospital, where four of them were in a critical condition. Sixty-four men remained at large.
Lae’s Police Superintendent Anthony Waigambe Jr said many of those who escaped were on remand awaiting trial.
“I am warning the general public to be cautious on their movements and take necessary precautions,” he said.
“I am anticipating a rise in criminal activities in the city with the large number of escapees on the run.”
Superintendent Waigambe warned Lae residents not to help the escapees.
“If they are caught [helping], they will be arrested and charged,” he said.
The Angau hospital has restricted normal visits while it treats the wounded prisoners, saying relatives wanting to identify the dead prisoners would need clearance from Correctional Services or police before they would be allowed in.
