Three awaiting-trial prisoners have been rearrested after escaping from an Eastern Cape police station.

The trio were part of a group of 12 prisoners who escaped through a hole in the wall of a police station in Mount Frere during the early hours of Thursday last week, police spokesperson Col Priscilla Naidu said.

Naidu said the prisoners climbed through a gap which had been cut open in the perimeter fence.

Nkosikhona Ngcopheni, who was detained on a theft charge, was rearrested at his house in Nkungwini, while a second suspect, Sodlana Luphumzo, was rearrested on the same day in Bislan. At the time of his escape Luphumzo was detained for burglary, Naidu said.

A third suspect, Ayanda Madzikane, who was detained for robbery with aggravating circumstances, was arrested on Sunday in section B informal settlement in Mount Frere.

“The task teams are still on the hunt for the remaining escapees,” Naidu said.

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