Forty-nine inmates escaped from a jail in Tunisia's southern town of Gabes, official TAP press agency reported Monday.

By early afternoon, 35 of the prisoners had been recaptured, Xinhua reported citing a security source.

Three prison guards were injured during the jailbreak, Tunisian radio reported.
After the incident, Justice Minister Nadhir Ben Ammou visited the prison, located some 500 km away from the capital Tunis, Monday.

Following the turmoil that ousted president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali in January 2011, more than 9,000 prisoners have escaped from a number of Tunisian jails taking advantage of the lax security across the country.

Security analysts blamed the poor state of the Gabes prison and the overcrowded cells for the jailbreak. A probe has been launched to determine the circumstances of the incident.