Escape tunnel

An escape tunnel is a form of secret passage used as part of an escape from siege or captivity. In medieval times such tunnels are usually constructed by the builders of castles or palaces who wish to have an escape route if their domain is under attack. In the case of prisoners, escape tunnels are dug to be free of captivity.

In road and rail tunnels, narrower escape tunnels are provided to enable people to escape on foot in the event of a fire or other accident in the main tunnel. For example, between the two main bores of the Channel Tunnel is an access tunnel large enough to take a fire engine.

1 Medieval escape tunnels
2 Real prison escapes
- 2.1 Successful Escapes
- 2.2 Unsuccessful escapes
3 Fictional escapes
4 See also

Medieval escape tunnels

Throughout the British Isles and much of northern Europe escape tunnels were often part of the intrinsic design of fortified houses and palaces. The tunnel would typically be one half to two kilometers long and open in a location not readily visible to attackers. Examples of these tunnels are at Muchalls Castle (Scotland) and the Bishops Palace at Exeter (England).

Real prison escapes

Successful Escapes

The following escapes were at least a partial success, with prisoners going through the tunnel and out the other side:

Successful Tunnel-Based Prison Escapes
Prison Location	Year	Number of Successful Escapees	Length of Tunnel	Details
Stalag Luft III	1943	3	30m	"The Wooden Horse", Lieutenant Michael Codner, Flight Lieutenant Eric Williams, and Flight Lieutenant Oliver Philpot
Stalag Luft III	1944	76	102m	Led by Roger Bushell during World War II. The story was made into a film: The Great Escape.
Island Farm	1945	70	21 m	[1]
Carandiru prison, São Paulo Brazil.	2001	100 (approx)	unreported	Moises Teixeira da Silva, a convicted robber
Dugaluft, Frankfurt	1941	1	unknown	Peter Butterworth was an English comic actor.
Vellore Fort, India	1995	43	TODO	Tamil Tiger inmates.
Yemen	2006	23	TODO	Innmates of Political Security Organization, including convicted mastermind of the USS Cole Bombing Jamal al-Badawi.
Burail Jail	1998	3	TODO	Escapees: Jagtar Singh Hawara, Jagtar Singh Tara, Paramjit Singh Beora
Sarposa Prison, Kandahar, Afghanistan	2011	476	320m	All but one were Taliban members. [2]

Unsuccessful escapes

Prisoners at Camp Bucca, a U.S.-run prison in Iraq, completed their tunnelling but did not make their bid for freedom, with the tunnel being discovered in March 2005 [3].

Fictional escapes

Agamemnon Busmalis from the television series Oz
The Count of Monte Cristo
Hogan's Heroes
The Shawshank Redemption
Stalag 17
Prison Break
Homer Simpson, in a parody of Edmond Dantès, in the episode "Revenge is a Dish Best Served Three Times"
Prisoner Cell Block H, six inmates attempted to escape through a tunnel found in the prison grounds, when the tunnel collapsed, only two of the six got away. 3 were trapped between the rubble and the blocked entrance and another was killed from the falling rubble. (Note: only 4 were meant to escape, but 2 followed to prevent them from going)