Quebec sees second jailbreak involving helicopter

June 7, 2014: These images taken from police handout photos show, from left, Denis Lefebvre, Yves Denis, and Serge Pomerleau. (AP/The Canadian Press, Surete Du Quebec)

MONTREAL – Three inmates have escaped from a detention center in Quebec City with the help of a helicopter, police said late Saturday.

It's the second helicopter-aided inmate escape in Quebec province in two years.

Provincial police said the helicopter headed west from the Orsainville Detention Center after the escape.

"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 on Twitter as Yves Denis, Denis Lefebvre and Serge Pomerleau and told anyone who sees them to not approach them and immediately contact police.

They were being held at the detention center waiting to stand 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.