Police in Yunnan province have begun a manhunt for a prisoner who escaped from a jail facility in Kunming.

The Yunnan Public Security Bureau issued a warrant on Wednesday and is offering a reward of 100,000 yuan ($14,500) for actionable information.

Zhang Lincang, 27, was sentenced to life in prison for transporting drugs and began serving his sentence in January at the province's No 1 Prison.

He is described as 1.84 meters tall, with a 10-centimeter-long burn scar on his back. The warrant also had detailed information about his home address and his appearance.

The bureau urged Zhang to turn himself in and drop any hope that he would elude capture.

"Zhang left the site where inmates were working at around 8:20 am on Tuesday, stole a truck, broke through the prison fence and fled. He abandoned the truck on a road 2 kilometers from the prison," a statement issued by the provincial Department of Justice said on Wednesday morning.

The prison put a contingency plan into action immediately and reported the escape to higher authorities.

The statement said the prison sent out a search party and requested police assistance.

A working group has been set up by the Department of Justice and the province's Prison Management Bureau. A headquarters for the manhunt has also been established.

According to media reports, Zhang served in the military, worked as a long-distance driver and ran a karaoke club.

He has a wife and a 2-year-old daughter, the report said.

Xinhua contributed to this story.