SYDNEY, May 15 (Reuters) - Prison officers in Papua New Guinea shot and killed 17 inmates involved in a mass prison break, local media reported on Monday, sparking calls for an investigation into overcrowded jails in the South Pacific nation where Australia detains asylum seekers. Authorities have warned that the escaped inmates, some of them still awaiting trial, pose a serious threat to the safety of the area.The prison in Lae, Papua New Guinea’s second largest city, has seen repeated similar escapes over the past years. The PNG Post-Courier and The National newspapers both cited local police as confirming 17 people were killed, three were caught and 57 were still at large. "These are undesirable people and will be a threat to the community," Lae police metropolitan commander Chief Superintendent Anthony Wagambie Jr said of those who escaped, warning the public to be vigilant. “The majority of those who escaped were arrested for serious crimes and were in custody awaiting trial,” police Chief Super­in­tendent Anthony Wagambie was quoted in several local media. “A good number were arrested by police last year for mainly armed robberies, car thefts, break and enter and stealing.”

Wagambie Jr said he was in Port Moresby at the time of the breakout but a joint security operation by correctional services and the police was working to rearrest the escapees. PNG police said details were “still sketchy” but noted reports which said “authorities” shot the men.
Papua New Guinean media reports confirm that 17 people were fatally shot by prison officers during a prison escape in Lae on May 12.