Surkhet, Nov. 1 -- Eight inmates escaped from Dolpa District Prison on Saturday by digging a tunnel beneath the prison compound, just three days after a new official was assigned to oversee security at the facility.

The escape came after the duty in-charge was replaced following a drug trafficking incident at the prison, Chief District Officer Junu Hamal said.

A preliminary investigation suggests the inmates damaged structures along the prison's inner wall and outer compound to dig their way out. The tunnel was dug around a septic tank, which the inmates appear to have worked around, Hamal said. It was approximately 3.5 metres long and four to five feet deep.

The incident has raised questions about security monitoring and prison manage...