KARACHI: More than 200 prisoners escaped from Malir Jail in Karachi during the night between June 2 and 3. The jailbreak happened after a strong earthquake caused panic among inmates and staff.
In the 24 hours before the escape, Karachi experienced about a dozen earthquake tremors. These shocks caused cracks in the prison barracks. On the night of June 2, at around 11:15 PM, a powerful tremor struck. Prisoners started shouting and demanding to be let out, fearing the buildings might collapse.
Some prisoners broke the locks of their barracks. Over 100 inmates got out and helped others escape. In less than an hour, around 2,000 prisoners were out of their cells. There were only around 60 jail staff on duty at the time.
Prisoners overpowered the guards, broke gates, and even took away keys and weapons. One officer was shot, and others were beaten. By 12:15 AM, many prisoners had reached the outer gate and ran away.
A total of 216 inmates escaped, including many involved in robbery, drug crimes, and other serious cases. Security forces arrived later and brought the situation under control. So far, 139 of the escaped prisoners have been caught or returned, but 76 are still missing.
The Sindh government has suspended senior jail officials and ordered an investigation. It was also found that the prison’s CCTV cameras were not working, and requests to fix them had been ignored for months.
This is being called the biggest jailbreak in Sindh’s history. Experts say the earthquake tremors were caused by an active fault line under parts of Karachi. Though not very strong, these tremors created fear that helped prisoners escape.
The government is now planning a full security audit of all prisons in the province.
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