Police and correctional services personnel are still searching for 34 prisoners, who have managed to evade a security dragnet since a mass escape from the Bizana prison in the Eastern Cape on Friday.
Police had managed to recapture 39 of the 73 prisoners by Monday. Superintendent Nondumiso Jafta said a task team appointed to trace and find the escapees had ”not slept from day one trying to re-arrest the escapees”.
Those recaptured will appear in court on Tuesday, facing additional charges of escaping from custody.
The Department of Correctional Services said the escape of the 73 prisoners, when they were being moved to safety after a gas explosion at the prison, was the largest mass escape from a prison in South Africa’s history.
Jafta said that the identities of the escapees would be published on Tuesday so the ”correct list” could be obtained from the department.
She reiterated a call for the community to come forward with information to help apprehend the men still at large. – Sapa