3 Inmates Escape from Canadian Jail Using a Helicopterin Quebec City … Suspects: Yves Denis Yvon Lamontagne, Denis Lefebvre & Serge Pomerleau (Update: Canadian Escapees Captured)

Movie-like prison break in the Great White North …

Three inmates escaped from a Quebec City, Canada jail Saturday night with the aid of a helicopter. A Sûreté du Québec spokesperson confirmed to CBC News that the prison break occurred at 7:45 p.m. ET from Orsainville Detention Centre and the inmates fled westbound in a green helicopter. There is currently a massive manhunt under way in Canada and the United States for Yves Denis Yvon Lamontagne, 35, Denis Lefebvre, 53, and Serge Pomerleau, 49. All are considered involved with organized crime.

From left, Denis Lefebvre, Serge Pomerleau and Yves Denis are shown in these police handout photos. Pic: screen grab from AP video below.

In a daring operation worthy of a movie, three men escaped from a Canadian jail by helicopter, prompting a massive manhunt, authorities said.

The men escaped from a detention center Saturday night in Quebec City.

“A helicopter touched down briefly in the courtyard before taking off with the three prisoners,” Ann Mathieu, a spokeswoman for Quebec Provincial Police, told CNN.

“We are talking closely with the detention center to figure out exactly how the escape transpired,” Mathieu told CNN partner CBC. “The priority … is to find the helicopter.”

A manhunt is under way for Yves Denis Yvon Lamontagne, 35, Denis Lefebvre, 53, and Serge Pomerleau, 49.

UPDATE I: Quebec manhunt widens for escaped inmates after helicopter jailbreak.

The three men were originally arrested on drug trafficking and gangsterism charges in 2010, according to police.

Denis is also facing first-degree murder charges, while Lefebvre and Pomerleau are facing charges of murder and conspiracy to murder, according to the Quebec provincial police website.

As the search continued Sunday, police added the escapees to the list of Quebec’s 10 most wanted.

The status of the men’s cases in the court system was not immediately clear. Provincial jails in Canada normally house people awaiting trial or those sentenced to offenses of two years or less behind bars.

Police said the men were swept up in a major 2010 police operation called Operation Ecrevisse (Project Crayfish), aimed at bringing down a drug trafficking ring in northwestern Quebec.

UPDATE II: Escapees in Canadian helicopter jailbreak captured.

“The prisoners were arrested at 1:30 in the morning in Montreal. The SWAT team made the arrest and those three people will appear in court … Monday in Quebec City,” Quebec police spokesman Sgt. Ronald Mc Innis told CNN.

He declined to say any more about the arrest as the investigation is continuing.

The helicopter’s pilot hasn’t yet been caught, according to police, but more arrests are expected, Mc Innis said.