223 Prisoners Who Fled Are Recaptured

All but 20 of the 243 inmates who escaped from a prison in northern Honduras last week have been recaptured, the government reported. The 223 fugitives were caught in the hills surrounding La Ceiba, where the prison is located, about 120 miles north of Tegucigalpa, the capital, an official said. Police backed by army troops were searching for the others. The inmates broke out of El Porvenir prison Feb. 11. They overpowered a dozen guards, stole their weapons, raided a store and an armory and set fire to both before fleeing. Police surrounded the prison, preventing other inmates from escaping. Like most prisons in Honduras, El Porvenir is woefully overcrowded. It was built for 300 inmates and houses about 500.