Law enforcement officials said six inmates at a prison in Chile´s Region V were just two meters short of completing an escape tunnel. Officials are currently investigating whether or not other inmates or outside collaborators were involved in the project.

Authorities discovered the tunnel on Saturday night at a penitentiary in the Region V city of Quillota. According to Region V Regional Justice Ministry Secretary Alfredo Nebrada, at least 20 prisoners may have been able to escape if the tunnel had been successfully completed (VT, April 27 ).

Six inmates reportedly had spent two weeks digging the tunnel, which was nearly six meters long, with improvised tools in one of the prison´s patios. Prison authorities discovered the tunnel after finding bags of earth hidden in inmates´ cells. Officials said the tunnel was only two meters—about two days´ work—from reaching its destination, a field outside the prison compound.

Authorities currently are investigating whether or not the inmates, who were serving sentences for robbery, had accomplices outside the penitentiary. Some suspect the prisoners may have been working for inmates convicted of more serious crimes.

Prison guards transferred the six inmates suspected of digging the tunnel to Valparaíso´s high-security penitentiary.

Meanwhile, some officials alleged that the escape attempt—not the first in the jail´s recent history—casts light on overcrowding and substandard living conditions within the facility. Quillota Provincial Governor Nilton Vergara announced the Provincial Council will vote this week on a Ch$355-million (US$7.8-million) project to build second-story cells at the prison, a measure he said would help alleviate crowding and tighten safety.

SOURCES: EL MERCURIO, EL MERCURIO DE VALPARAÍSO, LA NACIÓN, LA TERCERA
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