Mexican drug cartel kingpin Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman has escaped for the second time from a high security Mexican prison, authorities said.
Guzman, leader of the Sinaloa drug cartel, was last seen in the Altiplano prison before his absence was first noticed on Saturday night, Xinhua quoted Mexico's National Security Commission as saying.
A search operation was immediately launched in the area around the prison after the wardens raised an alarm. Highways were closed and flights at the Toluca airport near the prison were also suspended, the commission said.
This was Guzman's second prison break in 14 years. He last broke out of a prison in 2001 and was on the run for more than a decade. He was recaptured in 2014.
Guzman had been on Forbes's list of the world's most powerful people and was dubbed as the world's most powerful drug trafficker.