ELIZABETH CITY, N.C. - The Latest on an attempted escape from a North Carolina prison that killed two employees (all times local):

9:10 p.m.

Authorities say two North Carolina prison employees have been killed after inmates set a fire in an unsuccessful escape attempt.

State prison spokesman Keith Acree did not say how the employees were killed Thursday afternoon at Pasquotank Correctional Institution in Elizabeth City.

Acree says the inmates started a fire at the prison sewing plant where prisoners make safety vests and other items. He said in a statement that none of the inmates made it out of the prison.

Officials say 10 people were taken to two hospitals after the fire. Acree says several of them were prison workers.

The prison houses nearly 900 adult, male felons in both high-security and minimum-custody buildings.

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5:45 p.m.

Authorities say at least 14 people required hospital treatment after an attempted breakout by inmates at a North Carolina prison.

Sentara Albemarle Medical Center spokesman Peter Sengenberger said Thursday the hospital received nine patients after the incident at Pasquotank Correctional Institution in Elizabeth City. Sengenberger says two of those patients were transferred and another five patients were being taken to a sister hospital in Norfolk, Virginia, about 50 miles (80 kilometres) north. The extent of the injuries wasn't immediately disclosed.

The state Department of Public Safety posted on its Twitter account that the attempted breakout involved fires set in the prison's sewing plant.

A spokesman for the state prison system said he could not provide details about what happened or how many were injured.

The prison houses nearly 900 adult, male felons in both high-security and minimum-custody buildings.

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4:40 p.m.

Authorities say several employees of a North Carolina prison have been injured during an attempted inmate escape.

The state Department of Public Safety posted on its Twitter account Thursday that the attempted breakout from Pasquotank Correctional Institution in Elizabeth City involved fires set in the prison's sewing plant.

A spokesman for the state prison system and Sentara Albemarle Medical Center said they could not provide details about what happened or how many were injured.

Elizabeth City is about 50 miles (80 kilometres) south of Norfolk, Virginia, and near North Carolina's Outer Banks.

The prison houses nearly 900 adult, male felons in both high-security and minimum-custody buildings. Minimum-security prisoners work outside the walls on road gangs for the county recycling department and performing other community labour.

News from © The Associated Press, 2017