A nationwide manhunt was underway in Germany on Saturday following the escape of a deranged murderer from a psychiatric hospital, German police said.

The Russian-born man, aged 29, had been incarcerated after murdering a woman taxi driver and then raping her. A second victim survived an attack by the man, but was now paralyzed.

Police said the man had vanished from the locked ward of a hospital near the south-western city of Heidelberg.

An alert has been sent out to taxi drivers around the country, and motorists have been advised not to pick up hitchhikers.

The man was sentenced in February following his arrest after a four-day manhunt. The presiding judge ruled he was a homicidal necrophiliac.

Author: Darren Mara (dpa, AFP)
Editor: Toma Tasovac