Six prisoners escape from Russian colony
Convicts dug tunnel to freedom
Six prisoners have escaped from a prison colony in Russia's Lipetsk region after digging a tunnel, authorities said Monday.
The inmates escaped from the IK-3 colony in the village of Malaya Polna late Sunday night.
A spokesman for the local prison service said the convicts had dug a 90-meter (295-foot) tunnel from their barracks to a nearby forest.
The prisoners were serving sentences for various crimes, including murder, robbery, and drug trafficking.
A search operation has been launched to find the escapees.
Prison security under scrutiny
The escape has raised questions about the security of Russia's prison system.
In recent years, there have been a number of high-profile escapes from Russian prisons.
In 2018, two inmates escaped from a prison in Moscow by disguising themselves as guards.
In 2019, three inmates escaped from a prison in the Rostov region by using a homemade grappling hook.
The latest escape is likely to put further pressure on the Russian prison service to improve security.
