ZAMBOANGA CITY – (UPDATE) With the aid of some locals, 13 prisoners, including a suspected Abu Sayyaf member and a most wanted criminal in Sulu, bolted the provincial jail in Patikul town early morning on Tuesday, police said on Wednesday.

Senior Superintendent Julasirim Kasim, Sulu police chief, said they delayed the release of the report so as not to jeopardize the operation being conducted against the fugitives.

Kasim, quoting a report from the jail warden, said one of the fugitives was shot dead while trying to crawl out of the tunnel that they dug up with the help of some locals.

"A wide-scale manhunt operation is on to track down and recapture the 12 remaining inmates," he said.

Kasim described most of the escapees as "very notorious" and added that they have been facing murder charges.

"One is the most wanted man in Sulu and the other one is an Abu Sayyaf suspect, who was jailed for illegal possession of firearms," he said.

He identified the escapees as Abu Sayyaf suspect Magambian Sakilan; Mahari Aradji, the most wanted man in the province, Abdulmuin Kali; Abdusail Alpa; Daru Regor Kiram; Wattari Jatti Julhano; Bennasir Waradji; Adarli Pelera Jr.; Wing Torres; Ronald Rulliano, Salip Hasan Asmad; and Muhalim Asbarin.

The slain fugitive was identified as Edgar delos Reyes.

Asked how the escape took place, Kasim said initial investigation disclosed that the 13 inmates of cell number 7 dug a 10-foot long tunnel towards the back of the jail near the provincial capitol annex building.

Quoting jail warden Hadji Jupakkal Jadjuli, Kasim said jail personnel regularly conducted inspections.

But they did not allegedly notice the digging "because the prisoners covered that portion with books, reading materials and praying rugs."

On Tuesday around 4:30 a.m., Kasim said the prisoners broke free by crawling out of the tunnel, which had a diameter of 24 inches.

"We have alerted all the municipal police stations and instructed them to coordinate with the families of those who escaped so we can immediately recover them," he said.

Kasim said they were also trying to establish the identity of the locals who helped the prisoners bolt out, and what their exact participation was.