Regina escapees had help, jail had warning: corrections minister

The six men who smashed their way out of the Regina jail Sunday night had help from other inmates, a Saskatchewan government minister says.

Darryl Hickie, minister of Corrections, Public Safety and Policing, told reporters at a Wednesday news briefing that the inmates five of whom are still at large broke a hole through a wall of the Regina Provincial Correctional Centre.

He said as many as 30 other inmates were able to keep guards out of the escape area for an unspecified period possibly buying time for the escapees.

Hickie said he did not know how the men managed to get past a fence that surrounds the jail.

The minister also told CBC News that the director of the jail was told 10 days prior to the escape that prisoners were planning something. However, Hickie says the tip did not include a date norwhere in the jail the "something" could be expected. Still, guards were instructed to be more vigilant in their rounds.

ButKevin Yates, an NDPmember of the legislature from Regina,sayshis contactsin the jail maintainguards were not given a heads-up about any escape plans.

Hickie, a former federal corrections worker and police officer before entering politics, said he was "embarrassed" by the escape.

He alsorepeated that he has "grave concerns" about security and the integrity of buildings at the jail. He confirmed that the portion breached was built in the 1960s.

Once the area was secured, Hickie said, prison officials found what he described as a large cache of home-made weapons.

At the briefing, Hickie also announced that he has ordered two security reviews, one internal and another to be done by a former federal corrections official.

In another development, the union representing prison guards has issued a news releasedefending its members. Bob Bymoen, president of the Saskatchewan Government and General Employees' Union, said ministry officials had been told about security concerns before the escape.

The five men still sought were in the jail awaiting court appearances for a long list of charges, including murder.