The two men - Richard Matt, 48, and David Sweat, 34 - were not present for a Saturday morning bed check at the Clinton Correctional Facility in Dannemora, about 20 miles (32km) from the Canadian border.

A major search operation has been launched in the United States after a reported sighting of two convicted killers who escaped from a prison in New York State earlier this month.

The inmates cut through brick and steel at the Clinton Correctional Facility, before crawling through an underground pipe.

150 police officers have been searching near the border of Pennsylvania after two men were seen walking along a railway track.