Greeks hunt for escaped convicts

ATHENS, Greece - The helicopter company offered “escapes ... to idyllic destinations.” But this wasn’t the kind of flight it had in mind.

Police launched a massive manhunt Monday after a notorious bank robber hailed by some Greeks as a modern-day Robin Hood was lifted out of prison along with his Albanian accomplice in a rented chopper amid fire from prison guards.

Authorities were scouring the country for Vassilis Paleokostas and accomplice Alket Rizaj, throwing up roadblocks and checking the abandoned helicopter for fingerprints and DNA.

They also announced the arrest of four prison guards and the helicopter pilot, who was found bound, gagged and with a hood over his head. The pilot said he had been hijacked by a man and a woman brandishing an assault rifle and a hand grenade.

Police said the chartered helicopter was found abandoned near a highway north of Athens on Sunday. It had a bullet hole in its fuel tank from the gunfight that broke out with guards during the escape.

A local resident captured part of the prison break on amateur video. The grainy footage shows a helicopter rising from the prison and flying off across the city after shots are heard.

Flying low to avoid radar detection, the helicopter swooped down onto Greece’s main high-security Korydallos Prison on Sunday afternoon, and Paleokostas and Rizaj scrambled up a rope ladder onto the roof.