An inmate from Hunan province remains at large after knocking a hole in a prison wall and breaking out on Sunday morning.

It is the second time the inmate, 38-year-old Liu Hong, has broken out of jail, and comes amid a nationwide safety check at prisons.

More than 200 security forces and armed police are searching the mountains near Lishankou village of Hunan's Changde city, where Liu escaped from its Deshan prison.