Police vehicles block a road just outside the town of Chertsey, Quebec, Sunday, March 17, 2013, during a search for escaped prisoners. A dramatic daylight jailbreak involving two Quebec inmates climbing a rope into a hovering helicopter swiftly escalated into a large police operation Sunday night in which at least one escapee was tracked down hours after he fled. (AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Graham Hughes)

BENJAMIN SHINGLER
Associated Press

MONTREAL (AP) -- Two inmates made a daring daylight escape from a prison northwest of Montreal in a hijacked helicopter, then led police in a car chase and exchanged gunfire at a rural cabin before they were finally recaptured, authorities said Monday.

Police said the helicopter pilot was held hostage in the Sunday jail-break and was not a suspect. He was treated for shock at a hospital.

"This is the first time this has occurred in a Quebec facility," said Yves Galarneau, correctional services manager of the Saint-Jerome prison.

Galarneau said there are no security measures in place at the prison to prevent a helicopter from swooping down from above.

Yves Le Roux, president of the helicopter rental company, Passport-H
Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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