Police rescue medic held by prisoners at S.African jail

South African police early Tuesday ended a 20-hour prison hostage drama, freeing a doctor that had been held by two inmates at a privately operated maximum security jail in the centre of the country, officials said.

“At about 10 minutes before 7 o’clock this morning, the doctor was rescued and both suspects apprehended,” Thandi Mbambo, spokeswoman for the Free State province told AFP.

She said the doctor was unharmed but might require treatment for shock and trauma.

The prisoners at the Mangaung correctional centre, near the South African city of Bloemfontein, are believed to have used sharp surgical instruments to take the doctor and a nurse hostage on Monday.

They later released the nurse, but kept the physician.

Police said the prisoners kept changing their demands, from first asking for a transfer to a prison in Gauteng province, to later demanding better food.

Early on Tuesday, police decided that “enough is enough (and) a decision was taken that there won’t be any more negotiations,” Mbambo said.

The Mangaung correctional centre is jointly operated by the government and British security outfit G4S.