CDP convicts escaped through the entrance

CDP inmates escape

During last Sunday visiting hours at the Provisional Detention Center (CDP) in Quito, nothing out of the ordinary happened until 09:30 when a group of inmates escaped the control and safety system and ran out through the front door.

The police officers in charge along with the prison guards fired into the air to deter the runaways, but this did not get the desired effect. Three relatives of detainees said that while waiting in line to enter the prison, they heard an explosion before the escape. Six different witnesses said they only heard the gunshots.

The CDP is in the west of the city center and is a single complex with the former prison Garcia Moreno and Two and Three Boys prisons. These centers have reported no inconveniences.

After the mass escape of 55 convicts Police activated an operative on the nearby premises. Officers stopped buses and trucks to check them. Further visits were suspended. Recent reports indicated that most of the fugitives runned down the street Rocafuerte towards the San Roque market .