11 prisoners shoot 2 guards, escape from Filipino jail

The jail break took place Tuesday afternoon in Dancalan in Nothern Samar province, about 480 kilometers (300 miles) southeast of Manila, said police Chief Superintendent Eliseo de la Paz, adding that police launched a manhunt for the fugitives.

"My order is to shoot them on sight once they resist arrest," de la Paz said, describing them as armed and dangerous.

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He said an initial investigation showed one of the inmates armed himself with a smuggled gun and shot a guard on Tuesday. Other guards rushed in after hearing the gunfire, but were overpowered by other inmates.

A second guard was killed and two others wounded in the ensuing melee before the prisoners escaped, de la Paz said. He said the guards were hospitalised in serious condition.

De la Paz said the prison houses more than 200 inmates, locked up in single cells.