UPDATE: Why the runaway baboon and his ‘two wives’ were at a Sydney research facility

Three baboons have been contained by NSW Police after escaping a medical research facility in Sydney on Tuesday afternoon.

Multiple eyewitnesses contacted Ben Fordham on 2GB to report the unusual sighting at the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital in Camperdown.

NSW Police rescue crews attended the scene after receiving reports just before 5.30pm.

A spokesperson from Sydney Local Health District told 7NEWS.com.au that the three animals had been contained and that “there is no threat to the safety of staff, patients or visitors”.

“Police and experts from Taronga Zoo are on site assisting to resolve the situation,” he said.

7NEWS understands research is undertaken at the hospital that involves the primates.

In 2016 a hospital spokesperson said the baboon colony helped medical researchers conduct tests that contributed significantly to the treatments of new disorders.

It’s not clear how far the baboons managed to travel during their escape.

Play Video Baboons have been spotted outside Royal Prince Alfred hospital in Camperdown this afternoon. Baboons have been spotted outside Royal Prince Alfred hospital in Camperdown this afternoon.

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One woman said her daughter, who works at the hospital, had watched the incident unfold.

“My daughter is an occupational therapist at RPA and she said ‘yes mum I just helped wrangle them’,” she told 2GB.