Maputo — Two prison guards who were on duty when 51 prisoners escaped from the prison in northern Mozambican district of Nampula-Rapale on Tuesday, have been detained, suspected of negligence and connivance in the break-out, reports Friday's issue of the Maputo daily "Noticias".

Nampula provincial police spokesperson Orlando Mudumane told reporters that so far seven of the escapees have been rearrested.

Commenting on the reasons for the detention of the police guards he said that the commission created to investigate the circumstances of the mass escape concluded that there must have been negligence on the part of the guards and probably some connivance.

"All evidence leads us to conclude that the escape of the prisoners was not possible without the guards hearing the noise caused by the instruments used to break through the toilet wall, the method used for the getaway, and investigations are still under way to determine how those tools got into the prison", said Mudumane

He added that the heavy rains and thunder that hit the area on that day cannot be taken as extenuating circumstances, because guards must be constantly on the alert.

The police are hopeful that more of the escapees will be rearrested, since they doubt that they have yet left Rapale town, where security measures have been stepped up since the breakout.

According to the prison sources cited by "Noticias", only 15 of the escapees had stood trial, and were serving prison sentences ordered by a court. The rest were all remand prisoners.