April 11, 2007	Wednesday	Rabi-ul-Awwal 22, 1428

JAKARTA, April 10: More than 100 prisoners have escaped from an overcrowded prison in Indonesia's Aceh province after holding a prison guard hostage at knifepoint, the state news agency said on Tuesday.

The mass escape occurred on Sunday after some inmates overpowered prison officials and forced them to open two exit doors, Antara quoted prison head Harmaidar as saying.

The prison head said the jail had 238 prisoners although it only had the capacity to accommodate half that number.

Thirteen of the 108 fleeing inmates have returned to the prison in Jantho town, less than two hours' drive from the provincial capital, Banda Aceh, Antara said.

“We are going to hunt them as long as necessary without reservation,” Harmaidar said. “The lack of capacity and the lack of officers causes difficulties whenever there is some chaos.”

Overcrowded jails are common in Indonesia, where development of prisons lags the rise in the crime rate.—Reuters