Oct. 12 (UPI) -- An attempted escape at Pasquotank Correctional Institution on Thursday left at least six people injured, including prison employees, North Carolina law enforcement officials said.
The North Carolina Department of Public Safety said inmates set fires in the prison sewing plant in Elizabeth City around 3:30 p.m. It's unclear if any inmates escaped.
"Several employees injured," a tweet from the department said.
A spokesman at Sentara Albemarle Medical Center told WAVY-TV in Hampton Roads, Va., that six patients were transported to the facility. It's unclear if any inmates were injured in the incident.
The public safety department said authorities extinguished the fires and that the situation was under control.
Officials placed Elizabeth City-Pasquotank Public School on lockdown, which was lifted around 4:45 p.m.
The prison houses 729 inmates in close, medium and minimum custody.
