ANKARA (AA) - Turkish Interior Minister Muammer Guler on Thursday evaluated the capture of 17 of the 18 escaped inmates within 24 hours as a successful operation.
Guler answered the questions of journalists at the Strategic Local Governance Project meeting held in Ankara.
Reminding that 18 inmates had escaped from a prison in Turkey's eastern Bingol province on Wednesday by digging a tunnel during shift change at night time, Guler said judicial officials, gendarme forces and the Bingol governorship had commenced a large-scale operation immediately after the incident.
A crew from the capital Ankara also arrived at the region and the location of the fugitives was spotted, said the minister, adding that security forces were dispatched to the detected rural area of Ortacanak village in Bingol.
Officials are investigating whether the prison break might have been assisted, added the minister.
Asked about which prison the fugitives would be jailed at, the minister said the Ministry of Justice would evaluate this issue and those who had been negligent would be held responsible.
In addition, search operations continue to arrest the one fugitive who remains on the run, said the minister.
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