People in terror after 400 inmates escaped from Haitian prison

About 400 detainees fled Thursday, with AFP photos showing at least three bodies outside the jail and some detainees under armed guard in the back of a truck.

"Twenty-five people were killed, including six inmates and section inspector Paul Hector Joseph, who was in charge of the prison," Communications Minister Frantz Exantus said of the massive escape from prison in the suburbs of the capital Port-au-Prince.

"Among those killed were some civilians who were killed by the prisoners during their escape."

About 200 prisoners were still at large, but police are working hard to get them back. "Some are handcuffed; they will not be able to get far," Exantus said.

One of the prisoners killed was gang leader Arnel Joseph, who was shot dead during a police check 120 kilometers north of the prison on Friday.

"Arnel Joseph was killed when he attacked a police patrol that stopped the motorcycle he was on. The police responded, and Arnel

Joseph is dead, 'said Exantus.

Joseph, allegedly head of one of Haiti's main criminal networks, was arrested in 2019 and tried to escape from prison last July after announcing his plan in a video on social media a few days before the attempt.

While serving a sentence for murder, he had already escaped from another prison, in Port-au-Prince, twice in 2010 and 2017. The atmosphere is now filled with terror after the escape of hundreds of criminals.

The high-security Croix-des-Bouquets prison, inaugurated in 2012, was built with money from Canada and has a maximum capacity of 872 prisoners. However, there was almost double the number before the escape.