US prison escape ‘had hallmark of movies’

Investigators are looking into whether civilian employees or private contractors helped two killers obtain the power tools they used to break out of a maximum- security state prison near the Canadian border, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said.

Cuomo said during a round of appearances on television news shows that he would be shocked if a prison guard was involved in the escape from Clinton Correctional Facility in Dannemora, 32km south of the border.

Officials said David Sweat, 34, and Richard Matt, 48, cut through steel walls at the back of their adjacent cells and steel pipes in making the Shawshank Redemption-style breakout, which guards discovered early on Saturday. Sweat and Matt were still on the loose last night.

Investigators are interviewing hundreds of civilian employees and the contractors who have been doing extensive renovations at the 150-year-old facility, Cuomo said. It was the first escape in the prison’s history.

“We’re going through the civilian employees and private contractors first,” said Cuomo. “I’d be shocked if a correction guard was involved in this, but they definitely had help, otherwise, they couldn’t have done this on their own, even from the equipment point of view.”

Cuomo said the escape was a “sophisticated plan” and announced a $100,000 reward for information leading to men’s capture.

Sweat was serving a sentence of life without parole for the 2002 killing of a sheriff’s deputy. Matt had been sentenced to 25 years to life for kidnapping, killing, and dismembering his former boss in 1997.

“These are killers. They are murderers,” said Cuomo. “There’s never been a question about the crimes they committed. They are now on the loose, and our first order of business is apprehending them.”

Officials gave no details on how the men managed to avoid detection while obtaining the tools or cutting their way out. “They had to be heard,” Cuomo said.

After the search is over, “we’ll go through the exact details of what they did and how they did it to ensure this never happens again”. Cuomo said later.

Hundreds of law enforcement officers fanned out around the prison, following up on dozens of tips. Authorities set up roadblocks and brought in bloodhounds and helicopters.

Dubbed Little Siberia by locals, the prison houses nearly 3,000 inmates, guarded by about 1,400 correction officers.

Surrounded by farmland and forests, the prison is about a 45-minute drive by car to Montreal.

Cuomo said the escapees may have crossed into Canada or headed to another state or Mexico, where Matt served time for killing a man in 1998.