More than 130 inmates escape from prison in northern Mexico < br />

2012-09-19 07:08:54 GMT+7 (ICT)

PIEDRAS NEGRAS, MEXICO (BNO NEWS) -- Authorities in northern Mexico are searching for nearly 130 inmates who have escaped from a prison on the border with the United States after digging a tunnel, officials said on Tuesday. At least four of the escapees have since been captured.

Coahuila's state Public Security Secretary Jorge Luis Moran Delgado said the breakout, which left four people killed, occurred at around 3:25 p.m. local time on Monday when 132 inmates escaped through a 6.5 meter (21 feet) long tunnel that was constructed at the prison's carpentry workshop.

The prison is located in Piedras Negras, a city located in the state of Coahuila and borders the city of Eagle Pass in the U.S. state of Texas. State Attorney General Homero Ramos Gloria has offered 200,000 Mexican pesos ($15,600) as a reward for information leading authorities to inmates.

At least four of the escapees had been captured by late Tuesday evening. One inmate was captured in the municipality of Garcia in the state of Nuevo Leon after local police noticed a suspicious person walking in the streets and, after questioning, he admitted to having escaped from the prison. Three female inmates were found hiding in the prison's visiting area.

Prison outbreaks and prison riots occur frequently in Mexico, but Monday's outbreak is the second largest during the term of outgoing President Felipe Calderon Hinojosa. The largest outbreak occurred in December 2010 when 151 inmates escaped a penitentiary in Laredo, Tamaulipas.

In January of this year, 31 inmates were killed when two groups of inmates clashed at a penitentiary in the municipality of Altamira, which is located at the southern tip of the state of Tamaulipas and on the Gulf of Mexico. Local authorities said the inmates used self-made weapons during the fight.

-- © BNO News All rights reserved 2012-09-19

Weird. Sounds like there had to be assistance from at least one prison authority.

I bet security will be beefed up on the US side of the border at that region.