At least 52 prisoners have escaped from an Indonesian prison. More than half the prisoners are still on the run

At least 52 inmates have escaped from Kutakane prison in Indonesia's Aceh province, with 32 still on the run.

Indonesia's Jakarta Globe newspaper reported that the mass escape took place during the evening break of fasting on Monday (March 10).

Other local media said the prisoners broke through three locked security gates before escaping over a railing at the prison's main entrance.

Aceh police spokesman Joko Krisdiyanto confirmed that some of the prisoners had been captured and were being held at the Aceh police station. "We are still actively pursuing the remaining fugitives."

Passers-by near the prison filmed the inmates as they climbed over the roof and railings to escape. Twenty-one of them have surrendered or been arrested, and 32 remain at large as of Wednesday.

Harandi Sim, a prison director, said inmates had been asking for a private room for conjugal visits, but prison officials could not meet the request because building designated conjugal visit facilities required government approval and funding.

He added that prisoners had also complained about overcrowding in their cells, saying it had created inhumane living conditions.

The prison houses more than 300 inmates, mostly drug offenders.

Many prisons in Indonesia are reported to be overcrowded, and there have been previous escapes.

On February 19 last year, 16 prisoners escaped from the Dhana Pradesh Police detention Centre in Jakarta, Indonesia, in the early hours of the morning. Police said in a written statement that the prisoners escaped by cutting through the bars of their cells and using strung prayer MATS to escape. Police said the saw used by the prisoners was smuggled in by a prisoner's wife when she visited her husband. The prisoners spent about three weeks sawing through the bars by turns.