Two convicted murderers have escaped from a maximum security prison in upstate New York's Friday night to Saturday morning.

The inmates, identified as Richard Matt, 48, and David Sweat, 34, escaped from the largest state-run prison in New York the Clinton Correctional Facility in Dannemora, said the New York State Police. The facility is considered a maximum security prison holding male prisoners. It is located around 170 miles north of Albany, near the border of Canada.

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The escaped convicts were found missing when the"standing count" of inmates was held at 5:30 a.m. Saturday morning, according to the New York State Police agency's Facebook page.

Both men were able to fool guards of their presence using sweatshirts as dummies. The use of power tools were described by officials in a plan.

Living in adjoining cells, the men made use of power tools to drill a hole in the steel wall of their cells. They later walked onto a catwalk and, climbed down then again drilled through the prison's pipes and tunnels ending up on a nearby manhole, according to officials.

The escape was described by authorities as the prison's first in its entire history.

The question now remains as to how the men were able to acquire the power tools, according to the Associated Press. Authorities in the prison are now checking whether there are any missing power tools from the prison's contractors.

The prison was put on lock as soon as the convicts were found missing. The prison was on lockdown until late Saturday. At the same time, the men remained at large.

An intense manhunt was put in place, with more than 200 law enforcement officers participating. The manhunt also included helicopters, K-9 units and bloodhounds, reported CNN.

Police officers wore bulletproof vests and carried rifles as they surveyed roadblocks along routes going in and out of town. They checked inside of cars, peering through windows and checking trunks, according to The New York Times.

Residents were also petitioned to helping finding the killers, however New Yorkers are told to act cautiously in the search.

"These are dangerous people, and they are nothing to be trifled with," said authorities.

A full investigation is now being conducted by police and prison officials, as they work together with local and state authorities, as well as the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the U.S. Marshals Service, said Major Charles Guess, the region's State Police commander.

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