New York prisoner uses sheets to escape from fifth floor of hospital, police say

Man, 44, still at large after tying sheets together and lowering himself to ground from Mount Sinai Beth Israel in Manhattan

A prisoner receiving medical treatment escaped from a New York City hospital by tying sheets together, rappelling from a fifth-floor window and hailing a taxi, police said.

The 44-year-old man escaped from Mount Sinai Beth Israel hospital in Manhattan shortly after 4.30pm on Wednesday and was still at large Thursday, a police spokesperson said.