Brasilia, Jan 24 (IANS): Police are hunting for 60 of over 100 inmates who escaped on Sunday after using explosives to break down a wall of a prison in Brazil's Pernambuco state, the media reported.

Police are hunting for the inmates in shops and homes near the prison in Brazilian city of Recife, Efe news agency reported.

Two of the escapees died while 40 were recaptured by the military police immediately after fleeing, said officials of the Union of Agents and Servers in the Penitentiary System (SINDASP).

The inmates are hiding in shops and homes near the prison, forcing police to scour neighbourhoods in the vicinity of the jail for them, said the media.

The SINDASP published on its website a document that claims to have warned the Pernambuco's ministry of justice and human rights on January 8 of the escape plan at the unit.

The report informed authorities that "a jailbreak will occur by detainees who have not yet been unidentified, by the outer wall between the posts 05 and 06, are using explosive devices".

But the letter stated that the escape would take place "between January 9-10".

The incident comes just days after 53 prisoners escaped from the prison Professor Barreto Campelo of Itamaracá, in the metropolitan area of Recife.

All 53 of the fugitives have now been recaptured. When questioned by the media, police denied any link between the two events.