It’s turning into Hell Island in the Caribbean.
Forty “high risk” inmates escaped from a prison on the British Virgin Islands and were on the run after Hurricane Irma caused widespread destruction in the Caribbean, according to a government memo.
“We are working with St. Lucia and BVI authorities to secure the transfer to St. Lucia of 40 high risk prisoners that have escaped in BVI,” reads the cabinet memo, which was tweeted out by a photojournalist Tuesday.
There were reports of a massive prison break on the island of Tortola, and trapped tourists have complained of violence and looting, according to the Telegraph.
Anxious residents have been carrying weapons to defend themselves as they search for food and supplies.
“We had a serious threat of a complete breakdown of law and order in the British Virgin Islands (BVI). The prison was breached, over 100 very serious prisoners escaped,” British Junior Foreign Minister Alan Duncan said, according to the Daily Mail.
More than 700 British troops and 50 police officers have been sent to the BVI to help restore peace.
Briton Claudia Knight, who runs an arts school on Tortola, said the military is “everywhere with machine guns.”
“Everyone’s turned feral and no one’s going out without being armed,” she told the Press Association. “You can’t drive your car without a weapon, it’s turning really nasty.”