On Saturday, July 12, France’s prison service announced the commencement of an investigation following an inmate’s escape. The man managed to sneak out by concealing himself in his cellmate’s bag as the latter exited the prison after completing his sentence. 

The 20-year-old prisoner escaped from Lyon-Corbas prison, near Lyon, southeast France, on Friday, July 11. 

His cellmate had completed his sentence and the escaped prisoner managed to hide in his laundry bag as he left prison, the outlet reported. 

The inmate was serving several sentences, the prison service said in a statement to AFP. 

He “took advantage of the liberation of his fellow inmate to hide himself in his luggage and get out,” the statement said. 

The escaped prisoner was also under investigation in a case linked to organized crime, a source close to the affair told AFP. 

An internal investigation is underway and Lyon prosecutors had opened their own investigations, the prison service added. 

Speaking to BFMTV on Sunday, July 13, Sébastien Cauwel, the head of the prison administration, mentioned that a mix of “numerous mistakes” and “a chain of significant errors” allowed the escape to occur. 

“This is an extremely rare event that we have never experienced in this administration,” he said.