© WikipediaClinton Correctional Facility in Dannemora, New York.
Two prisoners serving life sentences for murder used
power tools to drill through the steel walls of a maximum-security prison in northern New York State, close to the Canadian border. A massive manhunt is underway with over 200 police involved.
The prisoners, identified as Richard Matt, 48, and David Sweat, 34, used
"an elaborate plot" to escape from the Clinton Correctional Facility in Dannemora, New York governor Andrew Cuomo said.
"A search revealed that there was a hole cut out of the back of the cell through which these inmates escaped," acting state corrections commissioner Anthony Annuci said during a Saturday news conference.
"They went onto a catwalk which is about six stories high. We estimate they climbed down and had power tools and were able to get out of this facility through tunnels, cutting away at several spots," he added.
The two convicts, who had adjoining cells, were discovered missing on Saturday morning during a bed check.
A major security concern is that the Canadian border is only 32 kilometers (20 miles) from the prison. Police have set up road blocks and are using bloodhounds and aerial surveillance in their search.
Officials have described the two convicts as
"dangerous individuals" and instructed people not to approach them.
Comment: On Tuesday an "unusual smell" in the cabin forced an Australian charter plane to make an emergency landing. In the US, a plane heading from Newark to Bradley Airport on Friday, made an emergency landing after a small fire broke out in the cockpit.
Plane related incidents like these seem to be increasing world-wide, see:
Sott Exclusive: Mayhem and Maydays in May skies: Aircraft crashes, accidents, glitches, mishaps and near misses