Caracas, Nov 27 (IANS/EFE): A total of 41 alleged criminals fled Wednesday morning from a jail in the central Venezuelan city of Los Teques in Miranda state.

"According to preliminary information, around 2 a.m. Wednesday a total of 41 prisoners took advantage of a hole in the wall of the jail at the Cuerpo de Investigaciones Científicas, Penales y Criminalísticas (CICPC) headquarters in Los Teques to flee," the public ministry said Wednesday in a communique.

CICPC officials, Miranda state police and members of the Bolivarian National Guard, Venezuela's militarised police force launched a search for the fugitives near the city.

The daily El Nacional attributed the prisoners' escape to "overcrowding" at the police facility, which has a capacity of 40 prisoners but the paper said -- was holding at least 130 people at the time of the breakout.

Union Radio reported that 23 of the men, who fled had been arrested for murder, eight for vehicle theft, four for kidnapping and the rest for unspecified "common crimes."