Riyadh - Three prisoners sentenced to death escaped Malas prison in the Saudi Arabian capital Riyadh after attacking a prison guard, an official Saudi source said on Wednesday.

Most prison guards were busy checking visitors to the prison during the first day of the Muslim feast of Eid al-Adha.

The three prisoners seized the opportunity to escape after threatening a prison guard with a knife.

The brother of one of the escaped prisoners was waiting for them in a car outside the prison, the Saudi Arabian al-Sabq online paper reported.

One of the escaped prisoners, who suffered from hypertension and diabetes, fell before he reached the gate, the paper said.

Hours after news spread of the prison break, the family of a man who accused one of the prisoners of trying to kill him shot the cousin of the escaped prisoner, al-Sabq reported. (dpa)