Inmates attempted to break out of a high-security prison in Kinshasa, the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s capital, killing 129 people, according to authorities.
Interior Minister Jacquemain Shabani said that 24 convicts died from bullet wounds after warning rounds were fired in the early hours of Monday morning.
The majority of the others died of asphyxia caused by a crush during the Makala Prison breakout.
Despite allegations of huge casualties on Monday, the administration first claimed that only two individuals had died.
Seven years ago, at least 4,000 convicts escaped from the nation’s largest jail.
On Monday, residents near the prison reported hearing gunshots, but journalists’ attempts to reach the location were hindered by police officials who had restricted entry to the area.
“There were gunshots from 01:00 or 02:00 in the morning and until around 05:00,” Daddi Soso, who lives close to the prison, told the AFP news agency.
“There were deaths, and there are people who fled,” he said, adding that the security forces were taking bodies away.
Graphic videos leaked from inside the prison on Monday, but not authenticated by the BBC, showed motionless bodies on the floor and others screaming for aid during a crush.
Mr. Shabani broadcast a video on X, formerly Twitter, around 24 hours after the attempted breakout, admitting the severity of the situation and the death toll.
He further stated that almost 60 people had been critically hurt and sent to the hospital.
“This is also an opportunity to commend all the security services, the national police, and the army, who responded quickly and were able to contain the situation, preventing the escape,” he said.
“It should be noted that there were indeed damages, including loss of life, injuries, and especially material damage at the central prison.
“Unfortunately, the administration and registry offices caught fire. These are urgent situations that we are currently addressing.”
Rights groups have requested an international probe into what occurred.
Footage from the aftermath of the attempted breakout appears to show a massive hole in a brick wall, burnt buildings, firefighters on the scene, and an office with papers thrown across the floor.
Makala Prison, built in the 1950s, has a capacity of 1,500 convicts, but it is currently housing more than 14,000, according to AFP.
In 2020, the BBC interviewed a prison administrator who revealed how prisoners were dying due to the horrible conditions, which included food shortages and a lack of hygiene.
At the time, it was thought that only 6% of the convicts were really serving sentences; the remainder were caught in the DR Congo’s court system, where cases often take years to resolve.
The justice minister has committed to step up efforts to decongest prisons across the country.
