FURTHER ESCAPE PREVENTED

Press, Volume LXXXIX, Issue 27073, 23 June 1953, Page 9

FURTHER ESCAPE PREVENTED

Firm Action By U.S. Troops

(Rec. 11.10 p.m.) SEOUL, June 22. Two more groups of prisoners tried a mass escape from the Masan camp in South Korea last night, but were prevented by American troops, the United Nations Prisoners of War Command announced today.

The announcement said that at midnight non-Communist prisoners at No. 7 camp at Masan at the southern tip of Korea broke out of two compounds and started running down the enclosure runway. -A short burst of automatic weapons fire from the guard tower was fired into the ground in front of them and turned them back,” the announcement said.

Non-toxic irritants were employed as United States security troops entered the enclosure and order was restored. No prisoners escaped and there were no United Nations or prisoner casualties.

Last Thursday morning 2824 prisoners escaped from Masan camp and the United Nations said on Friday that there were 1007 left in the camp. The command also announced today that non-Communist Chinese prisoners demonstrated in their * Cheju Island camp on Saturday, demanding the release of al] non-Communist Chinese held in South Korea.

They posted signs objecting to India providing armed forces for the neutral nations’ repatriation commission, and opposing the membership of Communistnations. Poland and Czechoslovakia are both on the commission.