Used Hijacked Helicopter To Distract Guards

A criminal who took advantage of a helicopter crash to escape from a Belgian prison over the weekend has been recaptured.

According to Australia's News.com, serial prisoner Nordine Ben Allal escaped in a waiting car Sunday after a helicopter -- hijacked from a nearby business by four armed gunmen -- made a hard landing in the Ittre prison yard.

Ben Allal and an accomplice onboard the helicopter ook advantage of the ensuing chaos to flee the grounds, briefly taking two guards as hostages. Reports say a third inmate -- who may have been trying to board the helicopter -- was injured in the melee.

Dutch police later found the car the men used to escape abandoned. The trail had gone cold, until police arrested two men following a holdup at a The Hague motorcycle dealership Tuesday night.

"It was only in the police station that Ben Allal was identified," Dutch police spokesman Wim Hoonhout said. "Contacts will be made tomorrow with Belgium on turning him over to the authorities."

The identity of Ben Allal's accomplice was not known.

Ben Allal is a notorious escapee; including the latest attempt, he had broken out of four prisons.

FMI: www.thehague.nl, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nordine_Ben_Allal