Tuesday, September 18, 2012

132 inmates escape near U.S. border

  • The prison break occurs Monday afternoon in the border city
  • The inmates escape through a tunnel
  • Police are blocking roads that lead to the United States

(CNN) -- Mexican authorities are blocking roads leading to the United States and are offering a $15,000 reward for the capture of the 132 inmates who escaped from a prison in a border town, authorities said.

The prison break occurred Monday afternoon in the border town of Piedras Negras in the northern Mexican state of Coahuila.

Piedras Negras is located about five miles from Eagle Pass, Texas, and 150 miles from San Antonio.

The inmates were able to escape what's known as a social rehabilitation center, a minimum-level-style facility, by burrowing through a seven-foot long tunnel, one by one, according to a statement from the state's prosecutor. The escapees then cut through a chain-link fence and ran through an empty lot.

Local and federal authorities are searching for the inmates and police have set up blockades on roads leading to the Mexico-U.S. border.

This escape comes after another one in February when 30 inmates fled after a riot in a prison in Monterrey, Mexico.