MOSCOW, March 22 (UPI) -- A convicted murderer who escaped from prison on board a helicopter Thursday was recaptured in Russia's Vologda region, the Interior Ministry said.
Ministry spokesman Valery Gribakin said the inmate, identified as Alexei Shestakov, was injured when he refused to surrender after being cornered by police, the RIA Novosti news agency reported. His accomplices who hijacked the helicopter remain at large, Gribakin said.
Shestakov, serving a 24-year sentence for murder at a penal colony in Sheksna, used a rope ladder to reach the helicopter, a penitentiary service official told RIA Novosti. Prison guards opened fire on the aircraft but could not force it to land.
Officials said the chopper's crew apparently was forced to fly to the penal facility.
The Mil Mi-2 helicopter was found in the city of Vologda, the region's capital, the penitentiary service official said.
