Police hunt addicts:

Vietnamese police hunted Monday for hundreds of drug addicts who escaped from a compulsory rehabilitation centre, with some using sticks and fire extinguishers to break out.

The communist government decrees up to two years of forced rehabilitation at government centres to try to reduce drug use. Rights groups have denounced poor conditions at the facilities and mass escapes occur periodically.

More than 500 addicts broke out of a centre in the southern province of Dong Nai late Sunday, leaving the centre in a shambles after smashing through concrete walls and windows and breaking down doors.

The escapees flooded onto nearby roads, according to footage in local media, prompting officials to urge residents to stay indoors and lock their homes. (AFP)