Haiti: Dozens dead after prison break

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Maximum security prison in Haiti

Photo: Tcharly Coutin / EPA

A mass outbreak with 25 deaths has occurred in a Haitian prison.

Hundreds of inmates fled, a government spokesman said.

The outbreak occurred on Thursday in the maximum security prison in Croix-des-Bouquets near the capital Port-au-Prince.

According to the government, 200 inmates are still on the run.

"Some of them are handcuffed, they won't get very far," said the government spokesman.

The identities of most of the dead have not yet been clarified.

It is known that six prisoners and the prison director are dead.

Gang leader shot while trying to escape

The head of a notorious gang, Anel Joseph, also fled.

According to the government, he was killed a good 100 kilometers northwest of the prison on Friday after attacking police officers.

The detention center is designed for a maximum of 872 inmates.

At the time of the outbreak, however, there were almost twice as many inmates (1542).

Dozens of inmates had already fled the prison in 2014.

At that time, armed attackers freed arrested accomplices.

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jpz / dpa / AFP