Mass jail break in northern Mexico
MEXICO CITY. September 11. KAZINFORM At least 85 prisoners have escaped from a jail in northern Mexico, close to the border with the United States; Kazinform refers to BBC.
Inmates used ladders to scale the fence of the prison at Reynosa in Tamaulipas state before dawn on Friday.
The prison's director and guards are being questioned by state prosecutors, because of suspicions that some may have collaborated in the breakout.
Many of the fugitives are reported to be members of Mexico's violent drug gangs.
This is not the first jail break this year in Tamaulipas state.
Only last month, 40 inmates escaped from a prison in the nearby city of Matamoros.
Mexico's prison system is struggling to cope with an influx of violent offenders arrested in the government's campaign against the cartels.
Many prisons are overcrowded and allegations of corruption are widespread; Kazinform cites BBC.
See www.bbc.co.uk for full version.