Prisoners found hiding in the ceiling at Alice Springs Corrections Centre during attempted prison break

Corrections have denied 40C+ temperatures and overcrowding in an unairconditioned desert prison worker contributed to an attempted prison break.

Prisoners were reportedly busted hiding in the ceiling during a foiled attempt to escape the Alice Springs Corrections Centre.

United Workers Union NT Secretary Erina Early said 16 prisoners attempted to escape from Alice Springs Correctional Centre on Boxing Day.

Ms Early said the attempted fugitives used their T-shirts to rip the wiring off the fans, before tearing off the metal sheeting and climbing into the crawl space.

Alice Springs Correctional Centre main building.

She said due to the extreme heat — which reached 38C on Boxing Day — some of the prisoners carried metal fans up into the ceiling.

Ms Early said the young prisoners were aged between 18 and 20 and were housed in G-Block, which is used to separate vulnerable people from the general prison population.

Ms Early said a worker realised they were missing following a room check, but it was unknown how long the prisoners were in the crawl space.

A Justice Department spokeswoman confirmed there was an attempted escape from the roof of a dormitory at the Alice Springs prison, which was discovered during a morning inspection.

“The prisoners were unable to breach the roof and therefore, could not escape,” she said.

She said there were 16 people in the dormitory, but four were actively involved in the escape attempt.

“(They) were accounted for by staff and immediately moved to another section in the correctional centre,” she said.

“Staff and prisoners were not harmed during the incident, and the dormitory ceiling has been repaired.”

The union has claimed their alleged escape attempt was aided by a lack of proper repairs on the G-Block, which was at the centre of a riot in 2022 in which prisoners reportedly set fires and smashed doors, locks and windows.

Ms Early also said tensions in the prison were high due to the extreme heat stress at the centre, with summer temperatures this December exceeding 43C combining with overcrowding in the unairconditioned desert prison.

However, the Justice Department spokeswoman said there was “no evidence” that the escape attempt was a result of prison conditions.

“NT Correctional Services is investing in security system upgrades and renovations at the Alice Springs Correctional Centre for the safety and wellbeing of staff and prisoners,” she said.

Alice Springs correctional staff have previously told the United Workers Union that after years of warnings, nothing had been done to address the heat or overcrowding risks.

“This heat or hot weather issue has been there for years, and what has been done so far? Just paint a few G-Block walls and putting a few holes in the Perspex,” one worker said in a 2022 union mental health survey.

“We need people who think for the safety and security of officers or are we waiting for prisoners to riot and then we act?”

NT Ombudsman Peter Shoyer has repeatedly recommended installing air-conditioning at Alice Springs prison, following years of complaints from prisoners.

In his 2022-23 annual report Mr Shoyer stressed the dangers of heat stress to prisoners in the small cells with limited airflow, but he also warned there were serious risks to workers.

“Heat stress not only impacts negatively on prisoner comfort, welfare and safety but also on the good management of the prisons.

“Prisoners who are hot, tired and aggravated from sleepless nights brought on by extreme heat are not so easily amenable to compliance and more prone to outbursts.”

During the 2018 summer a riot broke out and prisoners were tear gassed after refusing to return to their cells due to temperatures exceeding 40C.