Pennsylvania authorities had to evacuate the 208 male and female inmates of the Northumberland County Prison that was burned on Wednesday afternoon. Its thick smoke was seen from miles away.

The prisoners were first taken to a nearby church under heavy guard and then the men and women inmates were transferred to nearby separate state prisons. Another county in Pennsylvania also agreed to accept some of the inmates, reports Chron.com.

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The inmates held in the prison are a mixture of low-level offenders up to those convicted for serious crimes such as robbery and rape. Those charged with murder and whose cases are pending with the courts were also detained in the same facility.

No inmate escaped during the fire and all 208 are accounted for, said Stephen Bridy, chairman of the County Commission Prison Board.

The prison was made of stone and featured parapets like those found in ancient castles. It was built in the late 1800s and is a few blocks from the Susquehanna River.

It is located in Sunsbury City, about 40 miles north of Pennsylvania capital Harrisburg.

County officials said the prison appears to be totally destroyed. Bridy said the fire seems to be an electrical fire.

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