The Great (helicopter) Escape
The helicopter company offered "escapes ... to idyllic destinations." But this wasn't the kind of flight it had in mind.
Riot police officers guard Attica’s high-security Korydallos Prison yesterday shortly after the country’s most notorious criminal, Vassilis Palaiocostas, and his Albanian accomplice escaped in a spectacular helicopter breakout that was almost identical to their jailbreak in June 2006. Police discovered the helicopter used in the escape in a field in eastern Attica a couple of hours later. The pilot had been bound and gagged.
Nearly three years after a helicopter plucked Vassilis Paleokostas and a fellow inmate from the high-security Korydallos prison, he has done it again - with even more panache and precision.As authorities launched a manhunt, described as "unprecedented in scope", the prison guards faced a barrage of questions over how the 42-year-old armed robber and kidnapper could have fled with Alket Rizai, his Albanian sidekick, from under their noses in just four minutes.
The two men had been temporarily removed from solitary confinement to attend trial for the first jail break, and security measures were supposed to have been tightened.
"We saw the helicopter fly very low, circle the prison twice, disappear behind a [prison] wing and then fly off again," one witness told local TV.
'I'd say the entire episode took about four minutes. It was the shooting that went on."
The pair made their exit on a sleepy Sunday afternoon. And, as in 2006, they went for it Hollywood-style, in a blaze of bullets fired by guards (one of whom injured himself in the process). According to reports, this second escape was aided by a woman in the helicopter who threw a rope down to the men in the prison courtyard for them to climb up. The helicopter was found within hours of the getaway by an elderly couple near a motorway in central Greece, with its commandeered pilot tied up in the cockpit.
The motorway leads to the region's impenetrable mountain range where Paleokostas managed to flee after his last escape.
"I won't tolerate this embarrassment," said the Justice Minister, Nikos Dendias, who dismissed the prison warden and two other officials.
The audacity of the prison break could reinforce the inept image of the fragile centre-right Greek Government.
A list of notable helicopter prison breaks since 1996.
Dec 30, 1996, Santiago, Chile: Four leftist guerrillas escape from a high-security prison by jumping into a large basket dangling from a helicopter and flying away amid gunfire.
March 25, 1999, Sydney, Australia: Russian-born Lucy Dudko rents a helicopter for an alleged sightseeing trip then forces the pilot at gunpoint to land at Australia's largest maximum security prison to pick up her lover, convicted armed robber John Reginald Killick. The pair are later recaptured.
Jan 17, 2002, Sao Paulo, Brazil: A helicopter swoops into the prison yard of a Sao Paulo penitentiary and quickly flies away with two inmates. It was found later in an empty soccer field 50 kilometres away.
Dec 30, 2002, Ponce, Puerto Rico: Five convicted murderers escape the maximum-security Las Cucharas prison using a helicopter hijacked by two gunmen. All but one of the fugitives are recaptured.
Dec. 10, 2005, Grenoble, France: Three French convicts escape from a jail in the French Alps on a helicopter hijacked by armed accomplices.
June 4, 2006, Athens: Convicts Vassilis Paleokostas and Alket Rizaj stage their first escape by helicopter from Athens' Korydallos prison, masterminded by elder brother Nikos Paleokostas, himself a convicted criminal. Rizaj was recaptured in September 2006 and Paleokostas in August 2008.
July 15, 2007, Toulon, France: Convicted killer Pascal Payet makes a bold prison break by helicopter from Grasse prison southeast France. It was the second time he used a helicopter to escape prison in six years. Payet was arrested in Spain several months later.
Oct. 31, 2007, Ittre, Belgium: Belgian gangster Nordin Benallal, dubbed "The Eel" for his skill at escaping, breaks out of Ittre prison even though his getaway helicopter crashes. He is arrested in the Netherlands two days later.
Feb 22, 2009, Athens: Paleokostas and Rizaj stage their second escape by helicopter from same Korydallos prison in Athens amid a gunbattle. Helicopter is found abandoned near a highway north of Athens.
del.icio.us |
Digg
Post your comment