These images show two jailbirds including a murder running into the distance after escaping from an Italian prison and the authorities have now launched a manhunt to catch them.

The incident took place in the port city of Trani in the south-eastern Italian region of Puglia.

The escapees have been named as Giuseppe Antonio De Noja, 28, and Daniele Arciuli, 22, according to the Bari edition of the Il Quotidiano Italiano newspaper.

Arciuli was in prison for murder. De Noja was reportedly jailed for theft after committing seven robberies with his brother Giovanni, who is also in prison in Trani, according to Italian newspaper La Stampa.

They reportedly climbed the prison wall to freedom while it was temporarily unguarded.

Federico Pilagatti, spokesperson for the Autonomous Union of the Penitentiary Police (Sindacato Autonomo Polizia Penitenziaria; SAPPE), said: “The surrounding wall was unguarded and the policeman in the control room immediately gave the alarm when the two climbed over the wall.”

Two other inmates were reportedly stopped before they could escape the facility.

According to a spokesperson for the Penitentiary Trade Union Coordination (Coordinamento Sindacale Penitenziario; Cosp), it is the first time someone has escaped from the prison since “1970-72”.

The search continues.