Four inmates were killed on Sunday in a foiled jailbreak in the southern Philippines, police said.
One detainee and a member of the jail’s staff were wounded in the attempt at the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology detention centre in the town of Lianga in Surigao del Sur province, 866 kilometres south of Manila.
At least 11 inmates attacked jail personnel during breakfast and took their weapons, before rushing to the perimeter gate, said James Goforth, a provincial police director.
A member of the jail’s personnel was stabbed, he added.
“[Jail] personnel on duty were prompted to fire warning shots,” Goforth said in an interview with the Philippine News Agency.
But the inmates ignored the warning and “the [jail] personnel were forced to fire at the fleeing inmates,” he added.
Three of the escaping inmates died on the spot, while a fourth detainee died in hospital. Another inmate was still in hospital for treatment.