Romanian police launched a manhunt Friday after a prisoner serving a sentence for murder made a daring escape from his hospital bed using bed sheets to climb out of the window and make a bid for freedom.
Ion Soreanu, 53, from the village of Malu Mare in southern Romania was serving a 10-year sentence for murder at Craiova prison southern Romania.
On Sunday, he was admitted to the County Emergency Hospital to be treated for cirrhosis, Digi 24 reported.
He had a permanent police guard stationed outside the ward on the 2nd floor of the hospital.
However, at 6 am on Friday morning, when a nurse came into the ward to treat him, she saw his bed was empty.
He had apparently taken advantage of the early hour and a change of shifts and had tied bed sheets together to make a makeshift rope and climbed down to the first floor. From there, he went down the stairs and escaped.
The guardian and hospital staff alerted police that he had escaped and police launched a manhunt.
Police viewed CCTV footage and installed checks at exit points around the city of 295,000.
After six hours, police found him hiding down a manhole, just 30 meters from the hospital, dressed in sweatpants and a top and wearing a face mask.
They pulled him out, handcuffed him and took him into custody and he was hospitalized again, the station reported.
Police are investigating the case and he faces charges of trying to escape detention.
