A file photo of the escaped prisoner Lei Jun. [Photo: bjnews.com.cn]

A 45-year-old criminal in Wuhan City, central China's Hubei province, escaped prison early Saturday morning.

The prison soon revealed the criminal's photo on social media, with details saying the man was 181cm tall, weighed 75 kilograms, and took to his heels while undergoing medical procedures at a local hospital.

Police later checked hospital surveillance video corresponding with the time the prisoner escaped from the hospital. He was nowhere to be seen inside or outside the hospital.

The criminal escaped in grey round-collar prison uniform on the top and in prison striped pants on the bottom.

According to the published information, Lei Jun was detained by the police in 2010, and sentenced to jail for 11 years on charges of contract fraud.

The opened judicial documents also indicated that Lei Jun received a reduction in sentence of 11 months, for good performance during his prison term.

Media reports say the prisoner was still on the run by 10.am Sunday, and search operations are underway.