The two guards held hostage at a high-security prison outside Paris have been released today and the two inmates who seized them in a botched attempt to escape have surrendered.
The two prisoners, who took the guards hostage after a failed bid to flee in a hijacked helicopter from the Fresnes prison yesterday, surrendered peacefully, the authorities said.
They were identified as Ben Bouabdellah Mounir (25) serving a 15-year sentence for murder, and Christophe Khider (30) linked to some 35 robberies.
Khider, described by police as extremely dangerous, was last sentenced in 1999 to 30 years in prison for murdering a man during a bank hold-up in Paris.
He and Mounir took the guards hostage on Sunday after a spectacular bid to flee the prison on board a hijacked helicopter from which three accomplices had lowered a rope ladder.
The two inmates were unable to reach the ladder but managed to recover a bagful of weapons and bullet-proof vests dropped from the helicopter.
Authorities said a guard stationed in one of the prison watch-towers was seriously wounded in the chest during an exchange of gunfire with the hijackers, who fled after the helicopter landed at a stadium near the prison.
They said the guard underwent surgery overnight and his condition was stable.
Khider and Mounir initially took three guards hostage but then released one unharmed following negotiations.
The two men were immediately transferred to other prisons following their surrender. Prosecutor Mr Michel Barrau said the pair had not made any specific demands during the 20-hour hostage drama.
Justice Minister Ms Marylise Lebranchu, who visited the prison today, said she was thankful the incident had ended peacefully and expressed sympathy for the wounded guard and his family.
Authorities had feared overnight that the situation would get out of hand after other inmates broke down some of the gates in the prison yard and set some objects on fire.
In a similar incident in March, three inmates at a prison in Draguignan, southeast France, escaped by helicopter.
AFP