Prisoners cut through fences and took a jail commander hostage in a mass breakout north-east of Papua New Guinea capital Port Moresby, police said Thursday. A group of 73 inmates escaped Buimo prison in the city of Lae, using the prison chief and a warden to shield themselves from armed guards as they forced their way through fences late Wednesday, PNG police said. Two were almost immediately recaptured and another was shot dead, said Superintendent Nema Mondiai.