Authorities in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) have said at least 129 people were killed while trying to escape from the central Makala prison in the capital Kinshasa.

In a statement posted on X early on Tuesday, Interior Minister Shabani Lukoo said prisoners attempted the break out on Monday amid a fire that hit the building’s administrative buildings including the infirmary.

“The provisional toll is 129 dead, including 24 by gunfire, after warning,” Lukoo said in a statement posted on X, adding that some 59 people were injured.

He said there was “significant material damage.”

Lukoo said he was holding a “crisis” meeting with the defence and security services, but that calm had been restored.

Makala prison is the largest in the DRC and was built to hold 1,500 prisoners.

It currently has between 14,000 and 15,000 detainees, according to official figures. Most of them are people awaiting trial, Amnesty International said in its most recent country report on the DRC.

The prison has recorded previous jailbreaks, including in 2017 when more than 4,000 prisoners escaped from the facility after an attack by armed men at night.

Authorities had been trying to reduce overcrowding, with dozens of inmates released in recent months.

There was no public comment on Monday’s incident from Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi, who is in China on an official visit.

Justice Minister Constant Mutamba called the attack a “premeditated act of sabotage” carried out to undermine efforts to improve the condition of prisons.

“Investigations are underway to identify and severely punish those who instigated these acts of sabotage. They will receive a stern response,” Mutamba said.

He also announced a ban on the transfer of inmates from the prison and said authorities would build a new prison, among other efforts to reduce overcrowding. (Text, excluding headline: Al Jazeera)

Update news