Over 500 escape from rehabilitation centre in Sri Lanka

More than 500 inmates have escaped from a heavily guarded drug rehabilitation centre on Wednesday in northern Sri Lanka after a suspicious death led to a breakout of violence, police said.

The Kandakadu rehabilitation centre, about 250 kilometers northeast of the capital Colombo, mainly treats prisoners convicted of drug-related crimes.

Nearly 1,000 people were undergoing rehabilitation at the centre, which is guarded by army troops.

A team of police officers were at the centre to investigate the death when inmates started to get violent, broke the security fence and escaped, police said, adding that the search has begun to catch the escapees.

Illegal drug use has become a menace in Sri Lanka where officials say some 300,000 people — around 1.5 per cent of all Sri Lankans — are addicted to drugs.