Police in Vanuatu are on the hunt for six prisoners, including one accused of murdering an Australian woman, following a mass jail escape.
Adviser to Vanuatu's Ministry of Justice and Social Welfare Leias Cullwick said all nine men who escaped from the former French Prison on September 19 were considered high risk.
Since the break-out three of the men had turned themselves in, but six remain at large, she said.
Among those still free is Jacky Saul, chief suspect in the murder of Australian woman Lyndall Jaques, 69, who was found with her throat cut in her Port Vila home in January.
Cullwick said that as well as two murderers, others who escaped had been accused of rape and other sexual offences.
She said people in the community had been urged to be extra careful until the escapees had all been recaptured.
Cullwick said she was awaiting a report on the escape and dismissed as premature reports that the men had threatened prison staff with bush knives.
It is not the first time Saul has escaped since he was charged in relation Jaques' murder.
In March, he walked out of prison after threatening guards with an axe but was recaptured two weeks' later.
Saul has been awaiting trial for Jaques' murder since January, and is yet to enter a plea.
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