Notorious gangster escapes Paris prison by helicopter

A notorious gangster is on the run after escaping by helicopter from a prison in the Paris region.

Redoine Faid was helped by three heavily‑armed men with assault rifles.

Two gunmen used smoke bombs and angle‑grinders to break into the visitors' room where Faid was talking to his brother.

A third man in the prison courtyard guarded the helicopter and its pilot ‑ a flying instructor whom the men had taken hostage.

46-year-old, Faid, has been serving a 25‑year sentence for a failed robbery during which a police officer was killed.

This is the armed robber's second prison break: in 2013, he escaped after seizing four guards as human shields and blowing several doors off with dynamite.

He staged that escape less than half an hour after arriving at a prison in northern France, and spent six weeks on the run.

[Source:BBC News]