A prisoner in France has managed to escape from custody by concealing himself inside a bag belonging to his cellmate, who was being released after completing his sentence, according to local media reports.

The breakout occurred at Corbas prison, near the city of Lyon in southeastern France. Sébastien Cauwel, the national director of prison administration, told BFMTV on Sunday that the escapee exploited the opportunity of his cellmate’s scheduled release to slip out undetected.

Prison staff discovered the inmate’s absence on Saturday morning. Cauwel admitted to “a series of serious failures” that led to the escape, calling it “an extremely rare event” within the French prison system. He confirmed that an internal investigation is now underway.

“This type of escape is unprecedented in our administration,” Cauwel said, adding that overcrowding at the Corbas facility—currently operating at about 170% capacity—makes prison management increasingly difficult.

According to France’s prison authority, the fugitive was serving multiple sentences and was also under investigation in connection with organized crime, as reported by AFP, citing a source familiar with the case.

This incident follows another high-profile escape in France last year, when armed assailants ambushed a prison convoy in Normandy to free inmate Mohamed Amra, also known as “The Fly.” Amra was recaptured in Romania in February.