Police have been using tracking dogs and helicopters with nightvision cameras to search the woods of east Texas for death row inmate Martin Gurule, who escaped early on Friday.

Gurule was convicted of the murder of a restaurant owner in 1992.

He is the first prisoner on Death Row to have escaped from a Texas jail since the 1930s when an associate of legendary outlaws Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow broke out.

BBC's Peter Simmonds: First successful escape from death row in Texas since 1934

Altogether seven prisoners took part in the escape bid from Huntsville prison, but only Gurule, 29, made it beyond the perimeter fence.

Their plan relied on one of the oldest tricks in the book - they fashioned dummies so it appeared they were sleeping in bed.

But in reality they had stayed behind in the prison's recreation yard, where they cut through an interior fence and hid on a roof for several hours.

Stopped by gunfire

Early on Friday a prison guard spotted them jumping from the roof and sounded the alarm. He fired up to 20 shots stopping six of the prisoners in their tracks.

Death row fugitive Martin Gurule

But Gurule kept on running, and leapt over a perimeter fence.

He is now being hunted by dozens of law-enforcement officials who are using tracking dogs to pick up his scent.

"We do consider this inmate dangerous," prison spokesman Larry Todd said.

"We have no reason to believe that he is armed, but we do think that they had been planning this for several days."

Last year Gurule's appeal against his conviction was turned down but no date had yet been set for his execution.