Haiti Earthquake News: Main Prison Destroyed, 4,000 Prisoners Escape

NEW YORK (CBS/AP) Amidst the horror and devastation of the massive 7.0 earthquake that has rocked Haiti, almost all of the 4,000 inmates in the capital’s main prison have escaped.

“They obviously took advantage of this disaster,” Marcal Izard, a spokesman for the International Red Cross, said.

CNN’s Anderson Cooper visited the jail in Port-au-Prince and filed a report Friday. “We heard the prison was destroyed. We didn’t realize we’d find the door wide open,” he said.

Cooper reported seeing four dead bodies and dried blood on the floor. He also found bloody handprints and a rope that hung 30-40 feet from the guard wall to the street outside.

UN officials believe the prisoners rioted after the quake, overwhelmed the guards and escaped, Cooper reported.

“When you have criminals, bandits, assassins who terrorize the population – and we have all those types here – it’s a big problem for the country,” the prison’s warden Alexandre Jean Herisse, told Cooper.

Share:

Author: `

4 thoughts on “Haiti Earthquake News: Main Prison Destroyed, 4,000 Prisoners Escape

  1. ACTUALLY-THEY WERE ALL RELEASED DUE TO THE CONCERNS OF FLOODING FROM TSUNAMI- THAT FLOODING NEVER CAME

  2. The cynic Preval had his Interior Minister have the police spread a rumor to the effect that a Tsunami was going to seep the coastline of Port-au-Prince. They said the areas surrounding the city were already under water. So the panic set in and a stampede went up the hills to escape the danger.
    Everyone should know that a Tsunami spreads out from the quake site meaning Miami should have an alert if there was any danger – which there wasn’t
    Preval did this to gain freedom for 60 key gang leaders. These men went back to their areas and started to re-take control.
    This action may finish Preval.

  3. Are inmate location services by law suppose to be free and it is just the records that cost money even if it is a copy charge?

Comments are closed.