Man escapes prison by hiding in luggage of fellow cellmate as he's released in France

France's prison service said Saturday it had launched an investigation after a man escaped by smuggling himself into his cellmate's bag as he left jail, having served his sentence.

The 20-year-old prisoner escaped from Lyon-Corbas prison, near Lyon, southeast France, on Friday, broadcaster BFMTV reported. His cellmate had completed his sentence and the escaped prisoner managed to hide in his laundry bag as he left prison, the outlet reported.

The inmate was serving several sentences, the prison service said in a statement to AFP.