Three inmates from Huye Prison were on Wednesday night shot as they attempted to escape from the facility.

The prison is located in Huye District in Southern Province. 

According to Rwanda Correctional Service (RCS), the incident occurred around 8:30 p.m.

Hillary Sengabo, the RCS spokesperson, told The New Times that the inmates jumped over the prison fence.

"The inmates were shot as they attempted to escape. They actually used ropes to jump over the prison fence and when wardens on duty tried to stop them by shooting in the air, the inmates resisted,” Sengabo said.

Upon ignoring the warning shots the wardens shot at the inmates who succumbed to the injuries.

Sengabo added that all the inmates were convicts of robbery and were serving varied sentences. One was convicted of armed robbery and serving a 10-year sentence.

Others were serving three and five years.

He added that RCS has launched investigations into the incident.

Sengabo further pointed out that some other prisoners had tried to escape but the wardens managed to bring them back to the prison facility.

To be sure, however, a headcount was conducted on Thursday morning to account for all the inmates.

This is not the first incident where inmates had escaped from this prison.

The last jailbreak from the same facility was in 2013 when four men escaped by digging a hole through one of the prison walls.

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