Police in the Canadian province of Quebec said late Sunday they had arrested three men and had another cornered in connection with the helicopter escape of two of the men from a prison in Saint-Jerome, about 25 miles northwest of Montreal. Police are releasing few details but witness accounts gathered by various media sources suggest two of the men commandeered a helicopter at gunpoint and forced the pilot to hover over the prison yard. “At that point, two of the inmates came out and appeared to attach themselves to cables that were attached to the helicopter,” CTV News reporter Derek Conlon reported. “The helicopter then took off with these two men suspended underneath and it flew away, much to the surprise and astonishment of everyone in the area.”
It’s not clear how long the men, identified as Benjamin Hudon-Barbeau, 36, and 33-year-old Danny Provencal, hung underneath but Barbeau and the two alleged accomplices were arrested 30 miles from the prison. Provencal was located nearby and reportedly phoned a Montreal radio station saying he’d been shot in the leg. The station released a recording of Provencal who, speaking in French, said: “I don’t want to hurt anyone. I just don’t want to stay in prison, and I’m ready to die.” At our deadline, negotiations were under way between Provencal and the police.
