Five Free State prison escapees still at large

Five of the seven prisoners who escaped from Harrismith prison are still at large, the Free State correctional services department said on Sunday.

"There has been no apprehension so far. The five offenders are still at large and we are looking for them," said the department's deputy regional commissioner Grace Molatedi.

The group escaped on Friday night. Two of them were recaptured on Saturday.

The two are Ouman Mosia and Thabiso Moshoadiba. Mosia was serving a 12-year prison term for rape, and Moshoadiba a 10-year jail sentence for housebreaking.

The others were doing time for crimes ranging from rape to robbery.

It was alleged the group used a bed frame to break the bars of their cell window, and then used knotted blankets to climb out.