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 the Congo. DRC’s Interior Minister Shabani Lukoo said today that 24 inmates were shot dead by warning shots and others by shoving or suffocation as they tried to leave the overcrowded Makala prison in the capital city of Kinshasa in the wee hours of yesterday.

He said that the administrative building, the registry, the infirmary, and food depots were also set on fire during the jailbreak attempt. 59 people were wounded in the chaos. Local media reported that gunshots were heard for several hours at the Makala Central Prison yesterday morning. According to an Amnesty International report, the prison, with a capacity for 1,500 inmates, had over 12,000 prisoners.