Kakarta 7 May (ANA) - Around 250 prisoners have broken out of an overcrowded prison on Sumatra Island, Indonesia.

The men had been allowed out of their cells to pray earlier on May 5 when they escaped from the prison complex by tearing down a gate. It's thought that the prisoners had become frustrated with their treatment at the prison in Pekanbaru, Riau province. The prison has a capacity of up to 361 inmates but at the time of the mass breakout it had been home to around 1,800 prisoners, police spokesman Guntur Aryo Tejo told reporters. He estimated that around 200-250 prisoners escaped from the detention centre. Around 130 of them have since been recaptured by both police and residents. Some residents found the inmates trying to steal their motorbikes. Local television reports show hundreds of prisoners fleeing and scaling fences, trying to avoid recapture. Prisoners tore down a gate near a mosque inside the prison complex after they were allowed out of their cells for Friday prayers. According to AFP, they headed to the main door of the jail and tried to break though it. When this failed they headed for the side entrance and broke through a wire fence.(ANA)

FA/ANA/7 May 2017-----