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Police warn of an elite gang of Queensland escapies.
The seizure of contraband sparks a breakout attempt at Boggaroe Jail
and a man mauled to death by a lion at Melbourne Zoo.
Good evening, Noelle Matlin and welcome to ABC News.
In other headlines tonight, the Post observes the tradition of Easter,
a breakthrough in nuclear energy research and a massive oil spill in Alaskan waters.
And now for News in Sport, it's Gerri Collins.
Former Queensland wicked keeper Peter Anderson acquits South Australia and head home.
Parramatta swamps western suburbs in the Winfield Cup
and we meet 83-year-old Chick Clayton, the free-falling great-grandfather.
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Police around the nation are on the alert for an elite and violent armed hold-up gang.
They're all escapists from Brisbane's Boggaroe Jail,
thought to be led by Francis Post, one of Australia's most wanted men.
This is Francis Post, the man police think masterminded the big Brisbane breakout two weeks ago.
A specialist armed robber and a rapist, he escaped in September.
Authorities think he smuggled guns into Boggaroe Road to handpicked criminals,
men who now form a fearsome and elite armed hold-up gang.
Post is thought to be in Sydney with Wayne Ryan.
Also, Leslie Connolly, a gunman and drug addict who once topped Queensland's most wanted list,
and Ian Hunter, another prolific bank robber.
The gang is suspected of a number of recent robberies.
Like two other fellow Brisbane escapists captured in dramatic circumstances in Sydney yesterday,
they're considered highly dangerous.
One of those men, Bart Vosmayer, appeared in Parramatta Court today on numerous charges,
including intent to murder a police officer.
The court heard that Vosmayer and Vincent Sangrikoly reacted violently
when confronted by two yet unnamed detectives.
Vosmayer produced a sawn-off rifle from his car and grabbed hold of the junior officer.
The court heard how Vosmayer then pointed his gun at the young constable's head.
It's alleged he then yelled at the police sergeant,
drop your gun or I'll kill him.
It was alleged Vosmayer grabbed the constable's revolver and pulled back the hammer.
The policeman grabbed his wrist and forced the barrel away from his body.
He eventually overpowered the gunman.
Meantime, Sangrikoly allegedly went for his gun and was shot by the sergeant.
He was charged at a bedside court at Westmead Hospital today
with attempting to use a weapon to avoid arrest.
Yet another of the Brisbane escapists, Brett Langford, faced Sydney's central court today.
He was charged with six recent armed robberies in the Sydney district.
There's been a rigid clampdown on security at Bogger Road Jail
after six prisoners wrecked and broke out of their cells.
The incident last night followed a day-long search of the jail for prohibited material.
The inmates were subdued and are once again behind bars.
But Bogger Road remains off limits to visitors
as police and dog squads continue their snap inspection.
Yesterday's search netted a variety of contraband, screwdrivers, a meat hook, a tattoo kit,
money and homemade bongs were found.
So were hundreds of tennis balls suspected of being used to smuggle in letters, money and even drugs.
For the prisoners who've been locked in their cells since late Thursday, the search is far from over.
We'll keep it going until we're satisfied that we've been through everything,
right through the whole place thoroughly.
Just before 11 o'clock last night, prisoners upset at being locked up for the day started complaining.
There was some shouting and six prisoners broke out of their cells.
But their futile escape bid took them no further than the centre of the compound.
We had less trouble last night than I think we might have reasonably expected.
Charges will be laid against those who attempted the escape.
They're now being held under tight security.
For their quick recapture, warders earned some rare praise.
If you print anything else today or tomorrow, they've taken a lot of flak in the last week or so.
They have done a fantastic job here in the last 24 hours.
For the rest of the long weekend, prison staff numbers will be boosted by extra police and dog squads.
Brigadier Formby says management and administration at Bogger Road will be overhauled by early next week.
Prisoners are being shifted into different cells and rosters for staff will change.
Brigadier Formby says the changes will make Bogger Road a more efficient and safer prison.
He says prison warders have given the Corrective Services Commission full cooperation.
Queensland has recorded its first road deaths over the Easter holiday weekend.
A 46-year-old Bundaberg woman died when her car collided with a motor scooter.
A nine-year-old girl who was struck by a car in Toowoomba on Thursday also died in hospital.
In other states, Victoria has recorded five deaths, New South Wales three and South Australia one.
Police are tonight investigating the discovery of a man's badly mutilated body
found inside the lion's enclosure at the Melbourne Zoo this morning.
Police believe the 32-year-old Fitzroy man may have entered the cage as a dare or a bizarre suicide.
The body of the 32-year-old Fitzroy man was found naked and mauled by lying keeper Bob Anderson
during his routine morning check.
When I walked up the top of the overhead walk and looked down,
it's when I realised it was actually a human body lying in the enclosure.
While Mr Anderson called the police, the two male and two female lions
dragged the badly mutilated body into their cave.
Police are baffled by the bizarre circumstances of the deaths and are working on several theories.
Dressed only in black trousers, the man may have climbed from the ramp onto the five-metre fence
and jumped into the enclosure, either as a dare or to commit suicide.
A pile of neatly folded clothes were found below the ramp leading to the overhead walkway.
Police haven't ruled out foul play but say it would be difficult to dump a body over such a high fence.
They say once the man was inside, the four lions acted instinctively to protect their territory.
Police say they're satisfied with the zoo's security measures.
Well, how far do you want to go?
The large park and the zoo do what they can to make sure that people know the dangers.
Detectives from Cairns have flown to Lockhart in Queensland's Gulf Country
to investigate a black death in custody.
30-year-old Deidre Short was found by police in the Lockhart River watch house early yesterday morning.
Police say they're not certain of the exact cause of death
but claim the woman was checked at regular intervals during the night.
She was arrested for disorderly conduct at the Lockhart River Beer Hall.
Pope John Paul II has celebrated Good Friday by taking confession from a number of ordinary Catholics
chosen at random from thousands of Easter pilgrims at St Peter's Basilica.
Wearing a dark mantle over his white cassock,
the Pope spent more than an hour taking confession from a West German religious teacher,
two Roman bus drivers, two Italian army cadets, and a mother and son from Verona.
The pontiff said he took confession on Good Friday to underline his commitment to penitence.
In Jerusalem, Franciscan monks led the annual procession along the Via Dolorosa,
retracing the traditional path of Christ to his crucifixion.
The crowd seemed smaller than in recent years,
with only half a dozen large wooden crosses being dragged along the narrow cobbled stone streets of the old city.
The Palestinian uprising of the last 15 months meant extra security, but there were no reported incidents.
In a practice frowned on by the Church,
hundreds of Filipino Christians have commemorated the crucifixion in a more literal sense.
Reenacting the suffering of Christ, they marched through the town to their church.
Many of the penitents beat themselves until they bleed,
believing it brings them God's blessing and forgiveness.
In South Africa, Good Friday was marked by a march in Durban,
protesting against the plight of political detainees.
Over the past three years, thousands of people have been detained by the authorities without being charged.
For the third year in succession,
Good Friday prayers in South Africa were for those held under the continuing state of emergency,
and for one political detainee in particular.
We remember today, especially with grave concern,
Sandile Tusi, who today is in the 35th day of his hunger strike.
The condition of Sandile Tusi, glimpsed at his hospital window, is said to be critical,
but he says he won't give up.
He was weak, but he was trying to feel strong and then trying to make us not feel bad.
At the university where Sandile Tusi was employed, support for the family from students and staff.
Today, Sandile Tusi, through his action of protest, symbolises the plight of all who have suffered this inhumanity.
The government says almost 600 detainees have been freed this year,
but hundreds of others remain, demanding only to be brought before a court for release.
Emergency crews are trying to head off an environmental disaster in Alaska,
where a tanker has gone aground, spilling almost 30 million litres of oil into the sea.
The accident occurred south of Port Valdez, the northernmost ice-free port in the United States,
and the major distribution point for the Alaskan oil fields.
The tanker left Port Valdez at the southern end of the Alaska pipeline early this morning,
headed for Long Beach, California.
According to the Coast Guard,
the huge ship was manoeuvring to avoid floating chunks of ice in the channel and headed into an area where it should not have gone.
The Exxon Valdez ran aground on Bly Reef, which is clearly marked on navigational charts.
Initial reports say the ship ruptured its starboard tanks number 1, 3 and 5, the so-called slop tank, and centre tank number 5.
The Coast Guard says wind is pushing a five-mile long oil slick south into the main area of Prince William Sound.
The Valdez is one of the newer supertankers and one of the largest under the American flag.
Emergency cleanup crews were sent to the area immediately.
We will be doing everything we can to minimise the amount of oil in the water and minimise the amount of shoreline that it touches.
They also have to be careful not to do anything to make the Valdez shatter on the rocks.
Prince William Sound is rimmed by wildlife and recreational areas,
so workers are rushing to unload the remaining oil onto a second tanker in the next 18 to 24 hours.
Ironically, the Exxon Baton Rouge is dumping oily bilge water to take on the extra load.