Around 600 inmates escape rehabilitation center in Sri Lanka

Around 600 inmates escaped a rehabilitation centre in Polonnaruwa in central Sri Lanka on Wednesday after a fight broke out between two prisoner groups, said the police.

Police spokesman Nihan Thalduwa said that army soldiers and an additional police force have been deployed to the Kandakadu rehabilitation center to bring the situation under control, and a hunt has been launched for the escaped inmates, Xinhua news agency reported.

Thalduwa said the remaining 400 detainees at the centre were blocking the army and police from entering the premises.

The area around the rehabilitation centre, which holds around 1,000 detainees, has been cordoned off and security has been tightened in the neighboring areas.