Three inmates have escaped from a detention centre in Quebec City with the help of a helicopter, police in Canada say.
It's the second helicopter-aided prisoner escape in Quebec province in two years.
Provincial police said the helicopter headed west from the Orsainville Detention Centre after the breakout.
"We (are working with) a few partners like the airports of Quebec City and surrounding areas, the military bases, and of course there's a ground search in the event that the helicopter is located," said police spokeswoman Audrey-Anne Bilodeau.
Police identified the inmates as Yves Denis, Denis Lefebvre and Serge Pomerleau and told anyone who sees them to not approach them and immediately contact police.
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They were being held at the detention centre awaiting trial.
In March of last year, a helicopter pilot was forced at gunpoint to pluck two inmates from the St-Jerome prison on a quiet Sunday afternoon. Two inmates climbed up a rope ladder into the hovering helicopter and fled.
Police caught the two escapees and the two suspects who hijacked the helicopter within a few hours of the escape.
