Eight prisoners re-captured in Oklahoma on Tuesday just hours after fleeing in security vehicle

Weatherford Daily News / AP Eight inmates being transported by a private prison company escaped in this transport van in western Oklahoma on Tuesday.

Eight prisoners made a short-lived break for freedom when prison guards transporting the group parked outside a hospital and left the keys inside the still-running security van, local authorities have admitted.

A private correctional firm was transporting the inmates on Tuesday when one became ill, prompting an unscheduled detour to a medical facility near the town of Weatherford, an hour west of Oklahoma City. As the guards went to look for help for the sick prisoner, the unsupervised inmates proceeded to kick down an interior partition in the vehicle and then drove off.

Six fugitives were re-apprehended soon after the escape and the remaining pair were back behind bars later that evening. Nearby Southwestern Oklahoma State University was locked down for several hours during the manhunt.

[BBC]