Monday is a manhunt has begun in Thailand, after a bloody escape from a thai prison. The prisoners are still at large.
A u.s. citizen now faces the death penalty after an exchange of fire at the prison, which ended with a prison officer was stabbed with a knife, and three prisoners escaped.
This writes the news agency AP.
Overvågninskamera shows american Bart Allen Helmus in fight with a guard, after which he, together with his girlfriend and a thai prisoner escaping, after that they are holding several guards with a gun.
Bart Allen Helmus was Monday in court in Pattaya, where he and kæreten Sirinapha Wisetrit should have a conviction for drug trafficking.
Shortly before at 15.30 local time, found the pair in a building close to the courthouse along with a thai prisoner, as there was suddenly fired shots, after which Bart Allen Helmus ended up in a fight with a cop.
No one was hit by gunshots, but the officer was subsequently found on the floor with a knife in the left side of the body. He was shortly after taken to the hospital in critical condition.
The three prisoners fled then into an Isuzu pickup truck.
Extremely dangerous
Police describe the three prisoners as 'extremely dangerous' and have set up roadblocks in the area.
The u.s. embassy has been contacted and all border controls are in state of alert.
It tells the lieutenant Nanthachart Supamongkhol.
- The three prisoners wore handcuffs when they escaped. We are investigating how they could be in possession of weapons, he says.
He says that they are checking surveillance cameras to find out which escape route the prisoners took.
the Police explained that the three prisoners were being moved from one prison to the courtroom, since the drama broke out in a building close to the court.
Still at large
the Prisoners are on Tuesday still at large, and police suspect that they were using to hide in an area before it managed to escape through one of the country's porous borders.
Prisoners are now charged with the attempted murder of a police officer, to escape, while they were in police custody, having threatened others with pistols, illegal possession of arms and ammunition, to carry weapons in public without reason and to shoot in public without reason.
Prisoners are extremely dangerous, and ordinary citizens must keep away, says lieutenant Nanthachart.
the Police don't know yet how it managed the prisoners to have weapons, but promises that they will be punished severely.
Bart Allen Helmus and his girlfriend were arrested in July after police raided their apartment and found 1 kg. crystal meth, a pistol with 200 shots and a plastic bag with 205.000 thai Baht, equivalent to approximately 45.000 Danish kroner.
