More than 200 inmates escaped from a prison in Karachi, Pakistan, following a series of earthquake tremors that sparked panic among staff and prisoners, officials confirmed on Tuesday.
Zia-ul-Hasan Lanjar, Sindh Province’s Law Minister, told reporters that the tremors occurred late Monday night, prompting prison authorities to allow inmates into the courtyard for safety reasons. However, the situation quickly spiraled out of control.
“There was panic due to the earthquake tremors,” Lanjar said. “With nearly 1,000 inmates gathered, it became extremely difficult to maintain control.”
The jailbreak reportedly began just before midnight and continued into the early hours of Tuesday. During the chaos, some inmates overpowered guards, seized weapons, and forced their way through the prison’s main gate, leading to a gunfight.
A Reuters journalist at the scene reported shattered glass and damaged equipment inside the prison, as well as a ransacked visitors’ room. Outside, worried relatives gathered, seeking news of their loved ones.
Lanjar described the incident as one of the largest prison breaks in the country’s history.
The Malir District prison is located in a densely populated, low-income area of Karachi, Pakistan’s largest city. Local footage showed prisoners fleeing barefoot through the streets while police pursued them. Some escapees were later recaptured and loaded into police vans.
Sindh police chief Ghulam Nabi Memon stated that most of the escaped inmates were serving time for minor offenses, including drug-related charges. One prisoner was killed in the shootout, and three prison staff were injured.
Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah confirmed that approximately 80 of the escaped inmates had been re-arrested. He criticized the decision to let prisoners out of their cells during the tremors, calling it a serious lapse in judgment.
Shah also issued a warning to the remaining escapees: “Surrender now or face serious charges for escaping custody.”
(Reuters/NAN)
