Mass escape in deadly Mexican prison break

16.07.2011 [13:15]
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Baku, July 16 (AZERTAC). At least seven prisoners were killed and 59 others escaped after guards lost control of a prison in the town of Nuevo Laredo, on the border with the United States, Mexican officials said.

Soldiers surrounded the Sanctions Enforcement Centre prison following a breakout that came after an early morning riot, the Tamaulipas state government said in a statement.

"The situation is currently under control," said the statement.

Of the 59 who fled, 35 were being held on federal charges, which include drug trafficking and belonging to armed gangs, state officials said.

Friday`s breakout is still dwarfed by a jail break in December when 151 inmates escaped from the same site - Mexico`s largest ever break-out. Those who fled included the prison warden.

Five prison guards also fled on Friday, the statement read.

In March, an inmate murdered the prison warden.

Last year nearly 350 inmates escaped from nine prisons in the north-eastern state of Tamaulipas, which borders the US state of Texas.

Mass escape in deadly Mexican prison break

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