UPDATE: 9 inmates charged with escape after digging hole at Big Sandy jail

UPDATE: (10/18/18 3:00 p.m.)

BIG SANDY, Ky. (WTVQ)- Nine inmates are accused of digging a hole in a shower wall at the Big Sandy jail in Paintsville.

The jail says the nine inmates are now charged with escape, for using pieces of metal to dig the hole out of cinderblock.

The jail also says they couldn’t have escaped because of another wall outside of the one they were digging at.

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BIG SANDY, Ky. (WTVQ) – Inmates attempted to escape from the the Big Sandy Regional Detention Center, according to officials.

They say on Monday a correctional officer discovered a hole that had been knocked through a cinder block wall by inmates in an attempt to escape from custody.

According to the detention center the hole was approximately 18” by 12” and was located in a shower room.

They tell us two pieces of metal taken from a shelf in the cell were used to chip away at the blocks to create the hole that led to a plumbing access area one wall away the outside.

The Paintsville Police Department is in charge of the investigation.