A breakout at a drug rehabilitation centre in southern Vietnam resulted in 100 escaped inmates, a media report said on Monday.
It said that the convicted drug addicts rioted in their cells before breaking through the gates of the centre in Thanh Hoa district of Long An province on Sunday.
Hundreds of riot police were sent to the centre to keep order and search for the escapees.
“By Monday authorities had rounded up 61 of the 100 but they are still hunting for the rest,’’ Le Tan Dung, deputy chairman of Long An province, told newsmen.
He said that the addicts wanted to escape the centre to enjoy the Tet seven-day holiday.
Tet is a Vietnamese celebration which began this year on Jan. 26 and coincides with the Lunar New Year.
Report says there are an estimated 180,000 drug addicts in Vietnam, most of whom abuse heroin or methamphetamines. (dpa/NAN)