250 prisoners escape from a prison in Saint-Martin

AFP

Vincent Larin

Saturday, September 9, 2017 17:18

UPDATE
Saturday, September 9, 2017 17:25

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Nearly 250 prisoners, some of whom could be armed reportedly fled from a prison in the Dutch part of the island Saint-Martin.

“The house arrest of Pointe-Blanche has suffered serious damage and a breach was made in one of the partitions, which has led to 250 prisoners to recover their freedom,” said the captain of the gendarmerie, Amelle Ayoubi at the French radio France Info.

The prisoners would potentially be armed, since they would have robbed the armory of the prison.

“This is a situation that is potentially very dangerous, this is the reason for which the force has adapted its device. The entirety of the gendarmes held the island, reinforced by the civil Security and the army,” added the captain Amelle Ayoudi.

For its part, the French government indicated that the Dutch authorities had not confirmed this information.

The border between the French part and the Dutch part of the island is closed from both sides according to the French police.

In addition to the 410 constables and 80 police officers already on-site, approximately 240 police constables, additional are going to be deployed to Saint-Martin and Saint-Barthélemy was reported by the newspaper Le Parisien.