Inmates swim to freedom

DOZENS of inmates swam to freedom from a flooded Indonesian jail after one of its walls collapsed – the latest breakout to hit the country’s creaking prison system.

At least 32 inmates escaped from the jail in Jambi city on western Sumatra island late on Tuesday by swimming through the floodwaters after they smashed through the wall.

Most had been recaptured but about 10 were believed to still be on the run after the breakout from the jail, which houses about 1 200 inmates, Jambi police spokesman Kuswahyudi Tresnadi said.

Hundreds of police officers and soldiers have been deployed to look for the escapees.

Jailbreaks are common in Indonesia where most prisons are overcrowded.

Last month, more than 440 inmates fled a jail in Pekanbaru City on the island of Sumatra after prison guards let them out of their cells to pray. – AFP