Dozens of Prisoners Escape After Gunmen Attack Police Van Carrying Inmates

Some 45 prisoners managed to escape after AK47-toting gunmen attacked a prison truck transferring inmates in South Africa. Several policemen were taken hostage.

Twenty-two prisoners are now back in custody, while another 23 are still on the run, local newspaper The Witness reported.

The ambush happened on Wednesday morning in Pietermaritzburg, the capital and second-largest city in the KwaZulu-Natal province, in the southeast of the country.

They were among more than 45 inmates who were being transferred from New Prison to the Magistrate's Court in Pietermaritzburg on Wednesday.

Six of the prisoners handed themselves into officials in the Pietermaritzburg Magistrate's Court, the local paper reported, citing sources.

Those sources added that the gunmen, who were driving a pickup truck, were armed with AK47s, which they pointed at officers before forcing open the rear of the police vehicle.

"Police van with prisoners hijacked by five suspects with AK47 rifles. Policemen taken hostage with prisoners," the RTC South Africa Group said. "Shots were fired. Scene still active. This occurred a short while ago on Devonshire Road between Pietermaritzburg Court and New Prison. KZN Prisoners were en-route to court."

The South African Police Service (SAPS) added in a statement: "This morning at 8:00, two police officers were conveying prisoners from the PMB New Prison to the Pietermaritzburg Magistrate's Court were blocked off by a double cab bakkie – with five heavily armed gunmen.

"The suspects pointed firearms at the police officers and forced open the rear of the truck. A total of 31 awaiting trial prisoners escaped out of the 45 that were in the truck.

"A manhunt is underway for the escapees and you will be kept updated on the progress. Including the hijackers, 36 criminals are now [on the loose]."

The Edendale and Devonshire roads have been closed off to visitors, while police officers tend to the scene.

Newsweek has contacted KwaZulu-Natal police for more comment.

Carjacking is a significant problem in South Africa. It usually involves criminals opportunistically and violently hauling the driver out of their car before the thieves drive off with it.

According to the SAPS' crime statistics for 2019/20, car and truck hijacking across the country is on the rise.

SAPS reported 18,162 cases between April 1, 2019 to March 31, 2020, equating to 50 cars being stolen in South Africa each day.

This was a 13.3 percent rise compared to the figure for the previous year. The data shows that criminals used firearms in the large majority of carjacking cases—15,110 incidences—last year.