Two inmates of a prison south of Paris are holding two guards hostage after their daring attempt to escape by helicopter went awry, police have said.
The two prisoners, serving jail terms for murder and armed robbery, climbed onto the roof of Fresnes prison with their hostages, but failed to reach a rope ladder lowered from the helicopter by accomplices who had taken the pilot hostage.
The prisoners threw roof tiles at prison officers, before recovering a sports bag containing firearms which was dropped from the helicopter, and opening fire, a witness said.
The two prisoners, aged between 25 and 30, initially seized three guards but later released one of them. A specialised police unit is in talks to release the two still held, the police source said.
The helicopter, which witnesses said circled over the prison for several minutes, was later found abandoned on a nearby football pitch, the police source said, adding that its pilot had been freed.