Kathmandu, May 12 (IANS): Eight people jailed for rape, burglary and smuggling escaped from a prison in Nepal by digging a tunnel, officials said Sunday.

The incident took place Saturday midnight in Rolpa district, 280 km west of the capital Kathmandu, Xinhua reported.

Police Inspector Saroj Poudel said the prisoners escaped by digging an eight-metre-long tunnel from their cell.

Pralad Pokhrel, joint spokesperson at the ministry of home affairs, said investigation is underway to find the causes of lapse in security that allowed the prisoners to flee.

The convicts have been identified as Krishna Bahadur Oli, Raju Thapa, Deepak Pun, Basanta Roka, Dhurba Dangi, Chakme Bk, Raj Bahadur Oli, and Arjun Sen.

There were 11 inmates in the cell from where the tunnel was dug, but three inmates did not escape.

A total of 87 prisoners were in the prison, which has a capacity of only 35 people.

Police personnel on duty came to know about the jailbreak only after half-an-hour.

Cases of jailbreak are common in Nepal. On Nov 10, 2012, 12 inmates dug a 30-metre-long tunnel and fled a prison in Sunsari sistrict, 500 km from Kathmandu.