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Yesterday evening, a new attempt to escape from Trikala Prison was organised, accompanied by intense gunfire. A group of about 10 prisoners cut the bars of the wing, got on the roof and started shooting. Two security guards were injured, one of them - seriously. The alarm informed the police in Trikala and the Ministry of Justice about what was happening. Police forces arrived at the site and the wounded were hospitalised in the city. Reportedly, their lives are not in danger. According to the police, prisoners from the inside wing of the prison, where the detainees are mostly Albanians, were shooting, and, at the same time, somebody else fired gunshots from a car outside the prison.

Guards responded to the shooting in which two of them were injured. The police are looking for those who fired outside the prison, and, at the same time, the anti-terrorism forces are carrying out a police action in Trikala Prison. The aim is to check cells for hidden weapons and for prisoners to be counted. The number of runaways is not yet known. According to some sources, five people escaped, while others claim that there were 11. In parallel, the Ministry of Justice is carrying out an investigation about what happened.

It is noted that, on February 24, recidivist Panagiotis Vlastos had also made an attempt to escape from the same prison. He was wounded in the shooting.

The chronicle of events is reminiscent of a Hollywood movie. At 8:00 p.m., two vans approached the prison and unknown criminals started shooting at security guards with Kalashnikovs. The operation was well organised. Prisoners from the wing where the detainees are mainly Albanians managed to open the cells and got out onto the roof, also armed with Kalashnikovs. Apparently, they had got the weapons from a bag that had fallen from the helicopter when Panagiotis Vlastos tried to escape about two weeks ago. They started shooting together with the criminals outside and guards tried to prevent the escape. According to the Ministry of Justice, however, there is no evidence – neither shells nor cartridges - that somebody fired inside the prison.

At the very beginning of the gunfire two security guards - Costas Carras, 40, and Dimitrios Michail, 37, were seriously injured. One of them was wounded in the abdomen. Both were taken to hospital where they were operated on. One is of them is in the ER, but he is in stable condition.

The shooting continued all night.

The Ministry of Justice announced officially that 11 prisoners, foreign citizens convicted of theft and robbery, escaped from Trikala Prison. This became clear after the prisoners were counted.

Two of the eleven runaways were arrested at noon. The rest of them are still being searched for. The foreigners are serving sentences for theft and robbery.

To be continued.