Kinshasa, Sep 3 (IANS): At least 129 prisoners were killed and 59 others injured in an escape attempt at the Makala Central Prison in the capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), the government announced on Tuesday.

The provisional death toll has reached 129, including 24 by gunfire after a "warning", and the others by "shoving or suffocation", said Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior and Security, Jacquemain Shabani, specifying that at least 59 injured inmates were taken care of by the government, as well as some women who had been reportedly raped.

Shabani said the administrative building, the registry, the infirmary, and food depots were set on fire during the jail break attempt.

Gunshots were heard for several hours at the Makala Central Prison in the early hours of Monday, witnesses told Xinhua.

In July, Justice Minister Constant Mutamba decided that 1,284 inmates at the Makala Central Prison would be granted conditional release to ease overcrowding.

According to an Amnesty International report, the prison with a capacity for 1,500 inmates had over 12,000 prisoners, most awaiting trial.

There have been previous instances of jailbreaks at the Makala Central Prison when a religious sect attacked the jail and freed dozens in 2017.