12 inmates escape from prison in northern Mexico

12 inmates escape from prison in northern Mexico

2011-01-18 10:13:47 GMT+7 (ICT)

CHIHUAHUA, MEXICO (BNO NEWS) -- Mexican authorities on Monday informed that 12 inmates escaped from a prison facility in northern Mexico.

The twelve criminals broke out from the Aquiles Serdan prison in Chihuahua State located approximately four kilometers (two miles) from the state's capital of Chihuahua. The prison break took place at about 5.00 a.m. local time.

Local officials said that a loud blast was heard and initially it was thought that a grenade had exploded. However, it was later determined that the explosion was only a distraction while a vehicle demolished a wire fence.

The vehicle left a hole with one meter and a half of diameter through which the twelve inmates fled. At about 8.20 a.m., police forces managed to capture one of the twelve criminals who escaped through the west side hole.

Security inside the Aquiles Serdan prison was reinforced and authorities are currently questioning the captured escapee, identified as Fernando García Rocha. The Mexican Army also arrived to the scene to aid in the search and protection efforts.

The situation inside the prison facility was later reported to be stable and calm. The criminals that managed to escape are Lucio Urias Cazares, Rafael Peña Peña, Monserrat Chávez Moreno, Jesús Farid Estrada Lerma, Elías Daniel Espino Hernández, Víctor Hugo Téllez Macías, Juan José Rodríguez Hernández, José Leobardo Aranda Aranda, Miguel Gildardo J. Ochoa, Jorge Eduardo Aranda Aranda, and Maurino De la Cruz. It was not immediately clear why they were in prison or if it was drug-related.

Earlier this month, eleven inmates were killed when a violent fight broke out at a rehabilitation center in the northern region of Mexico. And last month, nearly 200 prisoners escaped from a prison facility in Nuevo Laredo in northern Mexico, not far from the Mexico-U.S. border.

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