Prison break by trio who killed guard triggers manhunt in Heilongjiang
Three escapees, including death row inmate, kill guard and flee county prison in police uniforms
Three prisoners, including a death row inmate, made a rare jailbreak, fleeing in police uniforms from the Yanshou county jail in Heilongjiang province after killing a guard early yesterday, People's Daily reported online.
There were conflicting reports over the whereabouts of the escapees. The newspaper's website reported that two of the fugitives were later recaptured near a reservoir about 2km from the jail, while another one was on the run. But according to The Beijing News, a Yanshou county press official denied that the fugitives had been recaptured.
The Heilongjiang public security bureau said on its official weibo account that the escapees killed the police officer and then fled the jail wearing standard-issue dark blue police uniforms.
The fugitives were not armed with guns, the bureau said.
One of the men, Gao Yulun, 50, had been sentenced to death, People's Daily reported.
The other two fugitives, Wang Damin, 35, and Li Haiwei, 29, were both charged with assault resulting in death but it was not clear if either of the men had faced trial.