Two hurt, 11 escape in Greek prison attack
TRIKALA, Greece - At least 11 inmates have escaped from a Greek prison after gunmen brazenly attacked the site with grenades and automatic weapons, kicking off a nightlong standoff between police and prisoners. Two guards were injured, one seriously.
TRIKALA, Greece - At least 11 inmates have escaped from a Greek prison after gunmen brazenly attacked the site with grenades and automatic weapons, kicking off a nightlong standoff between police and prisoners. Two guards were injured, one seriously.
A police official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told the Associated Press two of the escaped inmates had been found and arrested. He said they were hiding in a church not far from the prison. The official added that all the escapees were Albanian.
The attack occurred near the town of Trikala, in central Greece, about 200 miles northwest of Athens. As many as six gunmen attacked the prison after driving up in a van and pickup truck, according to officials.
The Ministry of Justice said gunmen using "two vehicles and very heavy weapons" attacked outside guards, a prison patrol vehicle, and two police cars.
"During the exchange of heavy fire that lasted over half an hour and turned the area into a battlefield, two perimeter guards were injured in the abdomen, one of them seriously," the ministry said.
Prison authorities were investigating reports that weapons had also been fired from inside the facility. The ministry announcement said "no guns or casings confirming the use of an automatic weapon by inmates during the escape have been found. However, the search continues."
At least five grenades exploded, and army experts were expected at the prison to dispose of two unexploded grenades.
The attack started Friday evening, when a police patrol jeep was fired upon.
The escapees used ropes and bedsheets tied together to climb down from a guard tower that had been attacked. They had to go through two more perimeter fences topped by barbed wire before they escaped. The same police officer said wire-cutting tools had been recovered.
