Australia Jail Riot Leads to Breakout of 10 Inmates, 1 Still Loose

Ten prisoners managed to escape during what was described as a jail riot in Australia on Tuesday. All but one have been captured and returned.

The riot and subsequent breakout took place at Western Australia’s Greenough Regional Prison, one of the area’s largest. When the inmates were reported missing, the public was warned they were "unpredictable," the BBC reported. 

As of Wednesday, only Bradley Silvester, 35, still remained at large

The riot, which began late Tuesday and lasted for hours, began when inmates started a decoy fire in one of the cells and destroyed control rooms. The inmates escaped the facility by breaking into the women’s prison facility and eventually cutting their way through a fence, The Australian reported.

"They broke into some staff offices, got some equipment and used that to cause some damage," Corrective Services Commissioner Tony Hassall told The West Australian. "We’ll do a full investigation into exactly what happened and what the causes were."

Union officials blamed the riot on understaffing, prompted by a governmental austerity program.

“I’ve just been in the prison to look around … utter ­devastation is the only word to ­describe it,” Western Australian Prison Officers Union acting secretary Paul Ledingham told The Australian.

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