SOUTH AFRICA: Manhunt underway after inmates escape from prison

The Police in South Africa have launched an extensive manhunt for an unspecified number of prisoners who escaped from a prison in Malmesbury, near the bustling city of Cape Town.

Local police in South Africa however say they have re-arrested “several escapees” who broke out of the prison in the Western Cape on Friday, but others inmates remain at large.

“We don’t have numbers yet as the manhunt is under way,” correctional services spokesperson Logan Maistry told the dpa news agency.

“The search party including detectives, on foot and in vehicles, has already covered much ground”, Police spokesperson Brigadier Novela Potelwa said.

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It’s not yet clear how many inmates escaped Malmesbury Prison but video filmed earlier on Friday appeared to show dozens running away.

A witness identified as Justus Schoonraad, a high school principal, was quoted by local media as saying some prisoners jumped the fence and made their way onto the school premises.

“I was sitting at my desk and then I heard a few shots from the vicinity of the prison and that is about 400m from the school,” he said.

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