The breakout was reminiscent of the one depicted in "The Shawshank Redemption," the 1994 movie based on a Stephen King story.
Cuomo, who was scheduled to attend Saturday's Belmont Stakes to see American Pharoah's bid for thoroughbred racing's Triple Crown, canceled those plans and traveled to Dannemora.
"You look at the precision of the operation. It was truly extraordinary," Cuomo said at a press conference outside the prison, known as "Little Siberia" for its remote location 320 miles north of New York City and the region's cold climate.
About 200 law enforcement officers were searching the area around Dannemora using dogs and backed by police helicopters, authorities said. Police were asking people to be on the lookout and alert authorities if they saw the two men.
Cuomo stressed that no one should approach them. "These are not people to be trifled with."
The convicts were identified as Richard Matt, 48, serving 25 years to life for three counts of murder, kidnapping and robbery. He stands 6 feet tall, 210 pounds and had black hair and a tattoo reading "Mexico Forever".
The other prisoner, David Sweat, 34, is serving a life sentence without the possibility of parole for the murder of a sheriff's deputy. He is 5'11", 165 pounds and has brown hair and tattoos on his left bicep and right fingers.
(Reporting by Victoria Cavaliere; Editing by Frank McGurty and Grant McCool)
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