SAINT-JÉRÔME, Quebec (AP) — Two Quebec inmates climbed up a rope into a hovering helicopter to make a daylight escape on Sunday from a jail northwest of Montreal, the authorities said.

The Quebec provincial police said later on Sunday that they had arrested three people about 30 miles north of the Saint-Jérôme jail, from which the two inmates escaped. The police said an operation was under way in Chertsey, Quebec, but did not specify who was arrested.

Earlier on Sunday, the police received a call from the staff at the Saint-Jérôme jail, reporting the escape around 2:20 p.m., said Sgt. Benoit Richard of the Quebec provincial police.

The jail’s warden told the police that two inmates, identified as Benjamin Hudon-Barbeau, 36, and Danny Provencal, 33, had grabbed a rope dropped from the helicopter to make their getaway, Sergeant Richard said.