One dead and two injured in attempted prison escape in Iquique

IQUIQUE.- At close to 8:00 am this morning, a group of prisoners tried to escape in the city of Iquique as they were being taken to the Paul Harris Dialysis Center and others were being transported to an oral trial for a robbery they had carried out against nine German soldiers in 2008. One of the detainees was killed, while two others were injured.

According to preliminary information, the prison van –in which the prisoners were being transported- had come down from the Alto Hospicio sector when it was intercepted at the Iquique roundabout by a white vehicle that attempted to rescue the prisoners.

At the scene, prison guards opened fire and one of the prisoners, Darío Ernesto García, was shot in the head and killed, while two others were injured, one of them in the chest. Both of the individuals were taken to the Ernesto Torres Galdames Regional Hospital.

The regional prison guard director, Carlos Araya, arrived at the scene along with police officers, who positioned themselves throughout the south end of Iquique, where the shooting took place. Two people were arrested, however the driver of the vehicle managed to escape.