Quebec police search for 3 inmates after prison escape involving helicopter

Police are searching for a three inmates after they escaped from a Quebec City prison with the help of a helicopter Saturday evening.

Surete du Quebec said the inmates escaped from the Orsainsville prison in a green coloured helicopter that flew west.

On Twitter, the SQ identified the escapees as Yves Denis, 35, Denis Lefebvre, 53, and Serge Pomerleau, 49.

“Priority number one is to locate the helicopter and the three escapees that are inside that helicopter,” SQ spokesperson Ann Mathieu told CTV News Channel.

“We are really working closely with the detention centre for all the information that we can possess on those individuals,” Mathieu said.

Police are warning the public not to approach the inmates if spotted, as they are considered dangerous.

In March 2013, inmates in a Saint-Jerome, Que., detention centre made a similar escape via helicopter. The escapees, as well as two other suspects, were caught by police a few hours later.

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  A Public Security bus sits behind barb wire at the Orsainville detention centre in Quebec City Thursday, July 22, 2010. (Jacques Boissinot / THE CANADIAN PRESS)

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  Surete du Quebec have named Denis Lefebvre, 53, as one of three escaped inmates from the Orsainsville prison in Quebec City. (Surete du Quebec)

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  Surete du Quebec have named Serge Pomerleau, 49, as one of three escaped inmates from the Orsainsville prison in Quebec City. (Surete du Quebec)

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  Surete du Quebec have named Yves Denis, 35, as one of three escaped inmates from the Orsainsville prison in Quebec City. (Surete du Quebec)