Samoa Police have recaptured 40 prisoners, armed with machetes, within an hour of their escape today from Tafa'igata, the country's main prison.
But one prisoner remains on the run.
All 41 escapees jumped on a bus as they fled from the prison area.
However police shot the tyres of the vehicle and managed to round all but one them up.
The acting police commissioner, Lilomaiava Fou Taioalo, told reporters the prison warders were unable to stop the armed prisoners from leaving the compound because they were outnumbered.
Police say the escapees had intended voicing their concerns to the prime minister over conditions in the prison's cells and their daily rations.
