Seven escape in turban jailbreak

Seven prisoners, including a number convicted of murder, have escaped from a Pakistani jail by using their turbans for ropes.

The prisoners broke through a toilet window in the jail in Machh, 50km (31 miles) south of the capital of Balochistan province, Quetta.

They then scaled the high-security jail's perimeter wall with the turbans.

Most of the convicts were serving terms of more than 20 years. A hunt is under way in nearby villages.

Overcrowded

Machh is Balochistan's leading jail and houses many criminals facing the death penalty.

Abdur Razzaq Shah, the prison's deputy superintendent, told the Associated Press the prisoners were being held in the jail's hospital because of overcrowding.

He said the prison was almost twice over its 550-inmate capacity.

Mr Shah said the pre-dawn escape occurred when the convicts disconnected an electric security fence.

Home department officials are investigating the case.

Nine prisoners escaped from the same prison last year, although a number were later rearrested in Dera Ismail Khan in North-West Frontier Province.