More than 100 people were killed as they were trying to escape from a prison in the capital of the Democratic Republic of the Congo in the early hours of Monday, the security minister has said.

In a post on X on Tuesday morning, Jacquemain Shabani Lukoo said 129 people had died and 59 others were injured in the escape attempt at Makala prison in Kinshasa. Twenty-four of those who died were killed by gunfire, while the others lost their lives in a crush during the chaos, he said.

He also said a fire broke out and destroyed the prison’s administrative buildings, registry, the hospital and food depots.

Lukoo said the situation was under control and investigations were ongoing. A crisis meeting has been called with the heads of defence and security services.

On Monday, a government spokesperson, Patrick Muyaya, said on X that there had been an “escape attempt” at the prison.

Makala prison is the largest in the country. It was built to hold 1,500 prisoners but housed more than 12,000 as of October last year, most of them awaiting trial, according to Amnesty International.

In 2017, at least 4,000 prisoners – more than half its population at the time – escaped after armed men stormed the building at night. More than 80 people were killed during the incident.