The man escapes from the prison hiding in the luggage of a cellmate while

France’s penitentiary service said on Saturday that he had launched an investigation after a man escaped smuggling in his cellmate’s bag when he left the jail, after having completed his sentence.

The 20-year-old prisoner escaped from Lyon-Corbas prison, near Lyon, southeast France, on Friday, BFMTV reported. His cellmate had completed his sentence and the escaped prisoner managed to hide in his laundry bag when he left the prison, the exit reported.

The inmate was serving several sentences, said the penitentiary service in a statement to the News.

“He took advantage of his prisoner’s release to hide in his luggage and leave,” the statement said.

He escaped prisoner He was also under investigation in a case linked to organized crime, said a source close to the matter to the News.

Internal investigation is being carried out and Lyon prosecutors had opened their own investigations, the prison service added.

Sébastien Cauwel, director of the prison administration, told BFMTV on Sunday that an “accumulation of errors” and “a series of malfunction” led to the escape.

“This is an extremely rare event that we have never experienced in this administration,” he said.

Last month, the Lyon Lawyers Association raised concerns about overcrowding in Lyon-Corbas prison, the BBC reported.

As of May 1, 2025, approximately 1,200 people were arrested in the prison, which has the capacity for 678 inmates, BFMTV reported.

• Escaped prisoner
• France