2 Quebec inmates flee jail in helicopter

Associated Press

SAINT-JEROME, Quebec

Two Quebec inmates climbed up a rope into a hovering helicopter to make a daring daylight escape Sunday from a jail northwest of Montreal, authorities said.

Quebec provincial police said later that they had arrested three people about 30 miles north of the Saint-Jerome jail from which the inmates escaped. One of the three arrested was inmate Benjamin Hudon-Barbeau, 36. Authorities late Sunday located the second inmate and said a security perimeter had been set up around the area where 33-year-old Danny Provencal was found.

Earlier Sunday, police received a call from the staff at the Saint-Jerome jail, reporting the escape around 2:20 p.m., said Quebec provincial police Sgt. Benoit Richard.

The jail’s warden told police that Hudon-Barbeau and Provencal had grabbed a rope dropped from the helicopter to make their getaway, Richard said.

Quebec provincial police tracked down the helicopter used in the escape about 53 miles away from the jail, but only the chopper’s pilot was at the scene.