Jail sirens raise alarm in Sandton

Correctional Services have explained why sirens were set off at Leeuwkop Prison last night unsettling Sandton residents.

|||

Johannesburg - Sandton residents were gripped by fear on Tuesday night as sirens from a nearby jail echoed through the area in the north of Joburg.

After being woken by the sound of the alarm at Leeuwkop Prison, residents rushed outside their houses to see what the commotion was about.

They were further unsettled when they spotted police helicopters hovering over their suburb.

“Leeuwkop prison sounding, prison break maybe?” asked @FrankHeitmuller on Twitter shortly after 10pm.

“Okay if the Leeuwkop prison bells ring at this hour what does this possibly mean? An inmate has escaped?” asked @Mam_Duma.

@NicciJoyCox from Rivonia said the sirens were “unnerving” as she had recently experienced a robbery.

But on Wednesday morning, Correctional Services spokesman Ofentse Morwane quelled fears of marauding criminals being on the loose in Sandton.

“There was no prison break but I can confirm that there was a fight inside the prison,” he said.

Morwane was unable to give details, such as the number of prisoners involved.

But a prison official, who did not want to be named, said prisoners had got into in an altercation and that officials raised the alarm in a bid to stop it.

“The inmates were stabbing each other and the members couldn’t call anyone because our telephones are not working for ages now, so they had to push the alarm,” said the official.

Although inmates had access to both pay phones and cellphones in prison, officials were without phones and had used the siren as a last resort to stop the fight from escalating.

karishma.dipa@inl.co.za

@Karishma_Dipa

The Star