Dudu Bala / Splash News

A barrel-chested convict was left screaming for help while he became wedged halfway through a wall after an attempted escape from a Brazilian prison went awry.

Rafael Valadão, a stocky, tattooed inmate being held in a prison in Ceres, Brazil, had to be rescued by firemen on Monday night, Brazilian paper Jornal Populacional reported. The 28-year-old had followed a fellow prisoner through a hole made with a metal shower pipe in the shower of a cell that was shared by four prisoners.

Though one smaller man went through first and managed to escape, Valadão went second, and was just too big to squeeze through. While attempting to flee, Valadão suffered from a suspected fractured rib, Britain's Daily Telegraph reported.

"He has a very large physique, and is also very tall," local fireman Lt. Tiago Costa told the Telegraph. "The other prisoners tried to push him but he stayed stuck in the wall. He started screaming in pain, and that was when the prison guards were alerted."

Officer Alexandre Alvim told Jornal Populacional that Valadão had been arrested for theft.

After fireman smashed through the rest of the wall to free Valadão, who was reportedly screaming in pain, he was returned to his cell, officers discovered a suitcase full of clothing that he had apparently packed in advance of his anticipated escape.

Local police said that four inmates were in Valadão's cell. The smaller prisoner, who is still at large, threw a bag of clothes over a fence to collect afterwards.