Officials said the tunnel was six meters long and located three meters underground. The tunnel reportedly was just meters short of allowing inmates housed in an area for medium-risk prisoners from escaping the penitentiary. Region V Regional Justice Ministry Secretary Alfredo Nebrada said at least 20 prisoners may have been able to escape if the tunnel had reached its destination.

According to Quillota Provincial Governor Nilton Vergara, prison officials had been investigating the possible existence of an escape tunnel for six months. The governor claimed authorities have identified six prisoners linked to the construction of the tunnel.

The discovery of the Quillota tunnel followed that of a sophisticated escape tunnel near the Colina II prison, located just north of Santiago. Officials said the Colina tunnel was financed with drug money and would have allowed large numbers of prisoners to escape quickly (ST, March 13 ).

Vergara said that while the Quillota tunnel was “much smaller and more rudimentary” than the one in Colina, previous escapes from the Quillota prison make it necessary for officials to thoroughly investigate the issue and evaluate the penitentiary’s security controls.

Officials have expressed concern that overcrowding at the Quillota prison, which houses 600 inmates and is the second-largest penitentiary in Region V, could make it difficult for authorities to control prisoners.

SOURCES: EL MERCURIO DE VALPARAÍSO, EMOL, LA TERCERA
By Leigh Shadko ( This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it )