Dutch police study links of foiled hijacking, prison break

THE HAGUE, Netherlands – Dutch police say a suspect was shot and killed when officers foiled an attempt to hijack a helicopter that may have been intended as a getaway vehicle in a prison break.

Police said in a statement that officers thwarted the helicopter hijacking after detectives learned that a man convicted of involvement in a gangland slaying might be planning to escape from a prison in Roermond.

Two suspects were detained and a third was fatally shot, according to the statement. Neither their identities nor the name of the prisoner they are suspected of planning to help were released.

After a high-speed car chase, police found parts of an automatic weapon and tools that could have been used in a prison escape.

Roermond is located 190 kilometres (120 miles) south of Amsterdam.