A security guard and a social worker were injured in the incident.

The identities of the escapees were not revealed but one of them was of African origin. Two of them were caught three hours after the incident but the third was still at large.

The newspaper said the incident happened at 2:40 a.m. on Wednesday when one of the inmates, who was 16, started feigning pain in his stomach. When the social worker went to check on him, the inmate surprised him by knocking him unconscious and tied him up.

A security guard who tried to intervene was also knocked unconscious. The three inmates then made their way out after cutting the center’s barbed wire fence. Police were called in and they were able to catch two of them at the nurses' hostel but after meeting strong resistance.

Correction home sources said the three inmates had planned their escape a long time ago and were able to execute their plan because of the low number of social workers and a lack of electronic surveillance.

The sources said this was the first time in the home’s history that inmates had managed to escape.