Portugal high-security jailbreak sees five inmates escaping by ladder

Five inmates including a Briton, an Argentinian and a Georgian as well as two Portuguese escaped from the Vale de Judeus high-security prison some 30 km (18 miles) north of Lisbon, authorities said on Saturday.

According to the Portuguese prison service, the men, aged between 33 and 61 years old, escaped at 10 a.m. (0900 GMT), "with external help through the launch of a ladder, which allowed the inmates to scale the wall and access the outside".

Police had been immediately deployed to recapture the escapees, it added.

The two Portuguese escapees were serving 25-year sentences for offences including drug trafficking, criminal association, theft, robbery and kidnapping, the prison service said.

The other three had been convicted of offences such as

theft, kidnapping and robbery.

"What failed here is the Portuguese state, due to the lack of guards and investment. Security is at stake," Frederico Morais, president of the prison guards union, said.

Portugal's Justice Ministry, which oversees the prison system, wasn't immediately available for comment.

Vale de Judeus is a high-security prison with a capacity of 560 inmates, according to its website.