12 inmates flee in 2nd Indonesia jailbreak in days

Twelve inmates have escaped from a crowded detention center in western Indonesia after overpowering their guards the second such breakout in less than a week.

Local police chief Brig Gen Endjang Sudrajat, says the inmates, all awaiting trial on drug cases, beat two guards and a janitor on Wednesday using iron from a bed before breaking a window at the office and fleeing the facility in Batam island.

Police launched a search across the island and have recaptured one inmate, Sudrajat said. The facility with capacity of 250 is currently sheltering 400 detainees.

Last Thursday, 212 prisoners, including nine terrorists, escaped from a prison in Medan on Sumatra after starting a deadly riot in which five people were killed. Some 103 of them have been recaptured.