At least 38 people have died in a huge fire that tore through an overcrowded prison in Burundi’s political capital, Gitega, Vice President Prosper Bazombanza said.
The blaze that broke out at about 4am on Tuesday also left 69 others injured and destroyed several areas of the facility.
Many inmates were still sleeping at the time of the blaze that destroyed several parts of the facility in Burundi’s political capital, Gitega, witnesses said.
Those with the most serious burns were taken to hospital, some ferried in police pick-up trucks, while others were treated at the scene, witnesses said.
Teams from the Red Cross in Burundi were at the scene to tend to victims, and the flames had now been brought under control, witnesses said.
The nearly 100-year-old facility, the third-largest in Burundi, housed a number of political prisoners in a high-security compound, and there was also a women’s wing.
