14 escape from prison in Panama
(Xinhua) -- Fourteen prisoners on Tuesday escaped from a prison in eastern Panama City, with two of them injured and the other 12 at large, local media reported.
The prisoners from the "la Joyita" prison attacked one of the guards, and took his shotgun and a 12-caliber gun, Luis Gordon, director of the Prison National Service, was quoted by local TV channel as saying.
A vehicle was waiting for the prisoners outside the prison, which indicated a possible exterior complicity, according to first reports.
In a quick reaction, units of the National Police recaptured two prisoners, who were shot in their legs in a shootout with police.
The authorities also launched an operation in towns near the prison to search the fugitives.
The Panamanian prison system, now holding about 10,000 prisoners, frequently registers breakouts, fights and riots due to overcrowding.
