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A top gangster is on the run after escaping a French prison by helicopter.

Redoine Faïd was flown out of Réau prison in Seine-et-Marne this morning with the help of three heavily-armed accomplices, security sources say.

The 46-year-old robber was taken from the visiting room to the chopper, which had landed in the prison's courtyard, according to the sources.

He then made his escape from the building, with the aircraft later found partially burned in Gonesse, close to Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport.

Hours on, Faïd remains on the loose - with a huge manhunt underway.

(Image: AFP) (Image: AFP) (Image: AFP)

It is the second time he has escaped from one of the country's prisons - after he blasted through five doors at Sequedin prison in 2013.

The gangster also took four guards hostage during the earlier prison break, before fleeing in a getaway car, which he dumped in nearby Lille.

He was on the run for a month and a half before being caught at a hotel.

At the time of his latest escape, Faïd had reportedly been staying in an isolation ward at Réau prison, situated in north-central France.

Jean-François Forget, secretary general of the UFAP-UNSA penitentiary union, told BFMT TV no special surveillance measures were in place.

(Image: AFP) (Image: AFP) (Image: AFP)

(Image: AFP)

He also confirmed a helicopter had been used in the escape.

Three armed gunmen reportedly arrived at the entrance of the prison this morning, demanding Faïd's release, to create a diversion.

Simultaneously, a Belgium-registered helicopter landed in the courtyard, believed to be the only spot not protected by a net, sources told Reuters.

At the time, Faïd - who was locked up for 25 years in April for a robbery that claimed the life of a policewoman - was in the visiting room.

He was taken from the room by gunmen before fleeing in the helicopter, the sources said. The men allegedly used smoke to block the cameras.

(Image: AFP) (Image: AFP) (Image: AFP)

The chopper, whose pilot may have been taken hostage, had landed in the courtyard at around 11.20am local time, according to French media.

It was later found burnt out north of Paris, about 40 miles from the prison.

The gangster - who was previously named France's most wanted criminal - and his accomplices are thought to have left the area via car.

It is currently unclear whether there was any exchange of gunfire during the prison break, but according to Le Parisien, there were no casualties.

Faïd was reportedly the only inmate who escaped from the facility.

Yoan Karar, of the FO prison union, described the robber's unidentified accomplices as expertly trained, professional and heavily armed.

(Image: AFP) (Image: AFP) (Image: AFP)

They knew where they were going, Mr Karar said.

Cops have launched a huge hunt to track down Faïd. "Everything is being done to locate the fugitive," an official at the interior ministry said.

Faïd is one of country's most famous gangsters.

He has a long career as a thief, which he has said was inspired by Hollywood blockbuster movies such as "Scarface" and "Heat".

During his previous prison break, he held four guards hostage before using dynamite to blow his way out and fleeing in a waiting getaway car.

He was on the run for six weeks before police eventually captured him in a hotel with an accomplice in the middle of the night.

An Interpol red notice at the time - the closest instrument to an international arrest warrant - described Faïd as dangerous.

(Image: AFP) (Image: AFP)

Born in 1972, the criminal took part in his first robbery aged just 18.

In the 1990s, he was part of a gang involved in armed robbery, theft and extortion in Paris. In 1998, he was arrested and sentenced to 30 years in prison for a string of crimes including armed robberies.

But following more than a decade in prison, he was released under conditions in 2009 after convincing his parole officers that he had changed.

Faïd's fame has increased since then following appearances in several television shows and authoring books recounting his past and rise as a criminal in Paris' tough suburbs.

This April, he was handed a 25-year prison sentence by an appeals court for a failed armed robbery eight years ago.

During the 2010 incident, a policewoman was shot dead.