The government in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) says inquiries are under way after an attempted jailbreak overnight from the country’s biggest prison.

Heavy gunfire rang out early Monday morning from Makala central prison in the capital Kinshasa as inmates tried to break out from the overcrowded facility, authorities said.

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Government spokesman Patrick Muyaya confirmed on X that there was an “an attempted escape”, adding that security forces now had the situation under control.

Al Jazeera’s Alain Uaykani, reporting from Goma, said at least two people were killed in the incident.

“However, the pictures coming from the central jail of Makala show what local media already calls a carnage, but we cannot confirm the number of causalities,” he said.

Uaykani added that local media reports say dozens of bodies were taken away from the prison.

Investigation opened

Daddi Soso, an electrician in his 40s who lives in the area, told the AFP news agency that he woke up during the night to the sound of gunfire.

“There were gunshots from 1 or 2am in the morning, and until around 5am,” Soso said, visibly shaken.

“There were deaths and there are people who fled,” he said, adding he saw law enforcement vehicles transporting bodies.

Makala prison, whose capacity is for 1,500 prisoners, holds between 14,000 and 15,000 detainees, according to official figures.

In 2017, 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.

Justice Minister Constant Mutamba said on X that “inquiries [are] under way to identify and severely punish the sponsors of these acts of sabotage”.

He also announced a ban on the transfer of inmates to the prison until further notice and said authorities will build a new facility, among other efforts to reduce overcrowding.