Prisoners dig to freedom with spoon
Israel launched a massive manhunt yesterday after six Palestinian prisoners broke out of a high-security jail by digging a tunnel with a rusty spoon, in an escape reminiscent of the film The Shawshank Redemption.
But there were conflicting reports as to whether the prisoners dug the tunnel or simply broke into an existing underground passageway.
Local police chief Arik Yaakov said: “We’re not talking about a tunnel which was dug, exactly. There’s a failure in the building, which is on top of a base of poles. There is a space underneath — and apparently the prisoners used it.”
The inmates, four of whom were serving life sentences for deadly terror attacks, according to Israeli media, escaped at about 1am.
Israeli officials said the escapees had dug a tunnel under the sink in their cell block which connected to a series of passageways under Gilboa Prison in northern Israel.
Gilboa is known as “the safe” in Israel, and is supposed to be one of the most secure prisons in the country.
Last night, Israeli officials described the escape as one of the worst security breaches in the country’s history.
According to the Jerusalem Post, the prisoners used a rusty spoon hidden behind a poster to dig the tunnel over the course of a month.
The technique is reminiscent of the prison drama The Shawshank Redemption, in which protagonist Andy Dufresne digs a tunnel out of his cell and then conceals it behind a poster of the film star Rita Hayworth.
The prisoners are believed to have tunnelled their way through the drainage system and emerged from a hole concealed by weeds outside the southern wall.
The Shin Bet security service said they may have been in contact with accomplices using a smuggled mobile phone. According to some reports, the inmates fled in a waiting car shortly after emerging from the tunnel.
The Israeli military and police have launched a major manhunt for the escapees, with drones, search dogs and helicopters deployed along with the Shin Bet internal security service.