During the incident, which occurred south of Johannesburg on Tuesday, a group of men armed with rifles surrounded the truck which was ferrying the prisoners, most of them still awaiting trial, police said. 

Police said the lock on one of the truck’s doors had been broken before the ambush. 

“They were awaiting trial — prisoners charged with various crimes including armed robbery, housebreaking and theft and possession of drugs,” police spokesman Lungelo Dlamini said in a statement.

Dlamini said one of the prisoners had been sentenced to 17 years for an armed robbery.

All the escapees were still at large on Wednesday. DM