- The Washington Times - Monday, June 9, 2014

A massive manhunt is underway after three men escaped from a Canadian jail in a helicopter, police said.

Yves Denis Yvon Lamontagne, 35, Denis Lefebvre, 53, and Serge Pomerleau, 49, escaped from a detention center Saturday night in Quebec City, CNN reported.

“A helicopter touched down briefly in the courtyard before taking off with the three prisoners,” said Ann Mathieu, a spokeswoman for Quebec Provincial Police, according to the report.

“We are talking closely with the detention center to figure out exactly how the escape transpired,” she said. “The priority … is to find the helicopter.”

Lamontagne and Lefebvre were awaiting trial for a 2010 drug bust. There was no information provided on the third suspect, CNN reported.

In March 2013, two men posing as tourists hired a helicopter and ordered the pilot to pick up two inmates from a detention center near Montreal. All four were arrested the next day.

• Jessica Chasmar can be reached at jchasmar@washingtontimes.com.

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