129 killed, 59 injured in abortive mass prison break in Democratic Republic of Congo

Sept. 3 (UPI) -- At least 129 people were killed and 59 injured in a failed jailbreak from a massively overcrowded penal facility in the Democratic Republic of the Congo where most of the 12,000 detainees are awaiting trial.

Authorities said most of those who died were crushed in a stampede while trying to escape from Makala prison in the capital Kinshasa in the early hours of Monday, but 24 were shot dead by guards.

Security Minister Jacquemain Shabani Lukoo said the prison's administrative buildings, registry, hospital and food depots had been razed in a fire but that the situation was under control ahead of a crisis meeting between the heads of the security and defense services scheduled for Tuesday.

Footage taken during and after the incident circulating online showed bodies on the ground amid a crush and people pleading for help, a significant breach in a wall, burned-out buildings, firefighters and an office with paperwork all across the floor.

However, Lukoo, while acknowledging the loss of life, injuries and damage, sought to present the incident as a win for law and order .

"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.

Amnesty International said that in October 12,000 people were being held at the prison, eight times the number it was designed for, the majority of them on remand.

In 2020, a prison official told the BBC that dire living conditions in the prison -- including food shortages and poor sanitary provision -- were causing people to lose their lives.

Estimates back then put the proportion of people held at the facility awaiting trial -- ensnared in the country's legal system where individuals often wait for years for their case to be heard -- at more than 90%.

In 2017, more than 80 people were killed when at least 4,000 prisoners broke out after armed men stormed the prison in a night-time raid.