Two guards killed as prisoners flee Guatemalan jail
( 2001-06-18 10:09 ) (7 )

Forty-one prisoners escaped Sunday from a maximum security prison south of here following a shoot-out that left two officials dead and three others wounded, police said.

"Unofficially, we know that that 41 prisoners fled" from the lock-down at Escuintla city -- known popularly as 'Little Hell' -- about 50 kilometers (30 miles) south of the capital, a police investigator told a local radio station.

The prisoners -- convicted murderers and kidnappers -- killed a prison guard and a police officer, and wounded three others, the investigator said.

Prison director Felipe Sandoval said prisoners rioted during visiting hours, at 1:00 pm (1900 GMT), using weapons they had hidden and others they took from prison guards.

Interior Minister Ricardo Gatica said police were using helicopters to track down the escapees.