A group of armed men stormed a prison in the Haitian capital and rescued two former officials of ousted president Jean Bertrand Aristide's regime being held there as hundreds of other prisoners escaped, officials said. The two men were later recaptured.
A prison guard was shot in the head and killed in the escape Saturday, a police source said. Three other guards were wounded.
Former prime minister Yvon Neptune and former interior minister Jocelerme Privert were recaptured just hours after the breakout at the prison in the Haitian capital, said police spokeswoman Gessy Coicou.
"They are now in custody at a secure location," she said.
Around 350 other prisoners got away when the prison was invaded by armed men. Coicou said the assailants had penetrated the facility when visiting family members were delivering food to inmates. She said only some of the escapees had been recaptured.
Witnesses told police that intense shooting erupted after three vehicles approached the front of the prison about 3:30 pm (local time). A police official said the operation appeared to be well-organized and had help from inside the prison.
"It was an operation mounted from both the inside and outside," a guard said.
Officials have launched an investigation into the escape. Several guards, complaining about a lack of materials and bad organization at the prison, have threatened to resign, sources said.
Aristide fled Haiti on February 29, 2004, amid an armed uprising and street protests against his rule. He now lives in exile in South Africa.
