Officials plot Pollsmoor Prison evacuation

[caption id="attachment_101643" align="alignright" width="300"] Many inmates who have not yet been sentenced will need to move to prisons close by. File photo
Image by: supplied / http://www.upclosetours.co.za/blog/rainy-days-cape-town/ TIMESLIVE[/caption]

Authorities met yesterday to discuss the logistics of relocating 4000 prisoners from Pollsmoor Prison in Cape Town following the outbreak of an infectious disease spread by rats.

Western Cape Correctional Services spokesman Simphiwe Xako said the justice, crime prevention and security cluster met to discuss the plan, while the department would also seek guidance from medical experts.

Many inmates who have not yet been sentenced will need to move to prisons close by.

"It is very easy for the department to move offenders who have already been sentenced. But those awaiting trial must be moved to areas that are reachable so that it does not affect their trials," said Xako.

The evacuation comes after a disease known as leptospirosis killed at least one prisoner.

The outbreak was caused by a plague of rats at the prison in Tokai, which houses 8000 inmates, twice the number it was built for.

The disease is spread through contact with food, soil and water contaminated by urine from infected animals. -Aarti J Narsee [TimesLIVE]