Two prison escapees were killed in fire exchange with police forces on Tuesday night during a manhunt in western Greece, according to local police.

Their identities have not been disclosed yet, but according to police sources, the two convicts were among a dozen inmates who had escaped from a central Greece prison complex on March 23 this year and were wanted ever since.

The two men, who are believed to have been involved in the killing of a policeman during a similar fire exchange in June, were fatally shot by police fire during a shootout near the village of Koniska at a distance of about 250 km west of Athens.

According to early information, the convicts tried to bypass one of the blockades which had been set up in the area over the past few days after their detection.

A police operation is under way for the arrest of another three suspects, local media reported.

On June 17 at the central Greece prefecture of Boeotia, a policeman died in fire exchange with a group of prison escapees during a manhunt.

In early April, some of these jail breakers were involved in the fatal shooting of a young female driver during a police chase near the city of Korinthos at the Peloponnese peninsula.