17 inmates bolt police lock up facility in Zamboanga City

Authorities are hunting down 14 inmates and have rearrested three others after escaping from a police lock up facility in Zamboanga City, early Tuesday.

Superintendent Hadjiri Langgal, chief of the Tetuan Police Station 6, said the 17 inmates bolted their jail at around 2:50 a.m.

Langgal said that based on initial investigations, the inmates escaped by sawing off the iron grills of their detention cell.

He said the station guard was overpowered by the 17 inmates.

Three of the escaped inmates were arrested at around 5:30 a.m.

Majority of the inmates who escaped are facing drug charges, the police station chief said.

The Tetuan Police has coordinated with other police stations and the military's Task Force Zamboanga for the manhunt of the 14 inmates.

The local police has also distributed photos of the 14 inmates. —report from Jayvee Francisco/ALG/BAP, GMA News