Nearly 20 inmates escape from prison, one killed in crossfire in Pakistan-controlled Kashmir

Jul 1 (EUROPA PRESS) –

Around twenty inmates, most of them dangerous, escaped on Sunday from a prison located in the part of Kashmir controlled by Pakistan, in an incident in which one of them was killed in crossfire with Pakistani security forces.

Police said the inmates took the jail staff hostage at 2pm local time and escaped. Following the escape, they have put on high alert in Rawalakot (Poonch district), where the escape took place, and have imposed blockades at the entry and exit points and launched a search operation.

The inmates are accused of terrorism, murder, attempted murder and drug trafficking. Of them, six people are on death row and three are sentenced to 25 years in prison. Authorities are investigating the circumstances of the escape, the Kashmir Times reported.

Kashmir has been a disputed region between India and Pakistan since 1947. The two countries have fought over it in two of the three wars they have fought since their independence from the United Kingdom. In 1999, there was a brief but intense military confrontation between the two nuclear powers, and a fragile truce has been in place since 2003.