Bloemfontein - Negotiators were still trying late on Monday night to convince two inmates at the Mangaung Correctional Centre to release a doctor they had taken hostage.
Brigadier Billy Jones said the two prisoners were still holding the doctor at 10pm.
“The negotiations are still ongoing,” he said.
The Mangaung maximum security prison outside Bloemfontein is privately run by the security company G4S, in co-operation with the Department of Correctional Services.
Earlier, it was reported that the doctor and a nurse, both prison personnel, had been taken hostage during a ward round at 11am on Monday.
The nurse had reportedly been released unharmed.
Police and emergency personnel were on the scene soon afterwards. - Sapa