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Three detainees have escaped from a jail in Quebec province by helicopter, police in eastern Canada say.
The helicopter swooped down late on Saturday and is believed to have flown off with the prisoners to the west, possibly towards Montreal.
The men were being held at the Orsainville detention centre, near Quebec City, pending their trial.
“Priority number one is to locate the helicopter and the three escapees that are inside that helicopter,” police spokesperson Ann Mathieu told a local news channel. “We are really working closely with the detention centre for all the information that we can possess on those individuals.”
The escapees have been identified as Yves Denis, 35, Denis Lefebvre, 53 and Serge Pomerleau, 49. Police have released pictures of the three on Twitter, and warned the public not to approach the inmates.
They headed west in the helicopter, perhaps towards Montreal, said local reports.
It is the second dramatic prison escape in Quebec in nearly a year.
Prisoners escaped from a different Quebec prison in March 2013 after being hoisted away in a helicopter, which officials said was a first in the region. The two escapees were found within hours, along with two people suspected of arranging the escape.
Agencies/Canadajournal
