Dramatic CCTV footage has captured the moment prison inmates in Brazil staged a daring prison break which saw at least 40 men escape.

Prisoners at the Frei Damião de Bozzano jail rushed to freedom after an accomplice blasted through the wall, the regional newspaper Folha de Pernambuco reported.

It said an explosive device had been placed outside the outer wall during time set aside for family visits.

Footage obtained by the newspaper shows scores of men dashing through the still-smoking hole moments after the explosion in the north eastern region of in Pernambuco.

Authorities reported that a total of 40 men escaped, though only one remains on the run.

Two men died during the prison break - with the newspaper reporting they were killed in a gunfight - and another is in hospital.

A further 36 men were rounded up within hours in an intense police hunt for the absconders.

Only one man, named as Kleber José de Araújo , 32, was still on the run, local news reports said.

They added that an investigation was underway into the explosion.