A 15-year-old inmate who escaped from prison in Athens by slipping through the bars of his cell was recaptured yesterday in the area of Corinth, west of Athens, police said.

The teenager escaped from his second-story cell at a detention center on Petrou Ralli Street at around 10 a.m. on Saturday by slipping through the bars.

State television channel NET reported that he then walked down to the main entrance and calmly left without being stopped by anyone.

A manhunt was launched for the inmate, who was to have been kept at the detention center overnight before being transported to a prison at Avlona, some 40 kilometers north of Athens.

Police did not release any further details concerning the teenager.