Vice President Prosper Bazombanza said 38 people died in a massive fire that ripped through an overcrowded jail in Burundi on Tuesday.
He told reporters that another 69 persons were critically injured in the fire at the institution in the East African country’s political capital, Gitega.
Vice-President Prosper Bazombanza told reporters that the fire broke out in an overcrowded institution in Gitega’s capital, injuring at least 69 persons.
Images circulating on the internet show a facility engulfed in flames, as well as mounds of bodies believed to be those of jail inmates.
One inmate told the BBC over the phone, “It’s truly horrible.”
“I’d guess over 90% of the sleeping halls are burned.”
Nurses from Gitega hospital have entered the prison to treat the victims, according to a journalist outside the prison, who claims they are carrying out the dead and wounded.
