148 prisoners escape from Mexican jail

Mexico City, Dec 18 (IANS/EFE) At least 148 inmates escaped from a prison in the northern border city of Nuevo Laredo, said a Mexican official Friday.

The mass flight began late Thursday night and prison authorities are conducting head counts to determine exactly how many men escaped, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Federal police and army troops were deployed around the prison on the outskirts of Nuevo Laredo, just across the border from Laredo, Texas.

Though neither federal nor Tamaulipas state authorities have officially acknowledged the escape, news of the incident has been circulating on the Internet via Twitter and Facebook.

–IANS/EFE