The Democratic Republic of Congo has been unable to identify the bodies of at least 129 detainees who died this week in an escape attempt, authorities said on Friday.
Authorities are appealing to families and people who have no news of loved ones held in the overcrowded prison in the capital, Kinshasa, to go to morgues and identify bodies, the Justice Ministry said in a statement.
The incident occurred on the night of Sunday to Monday in the Makala prison in Kinshasa. Several prisoners reportedly tried to escape, after which the security services intervened. Several prisoners were reportedly shot dead, others died of suffocation.
Makala Prison has a capacity of 1,500 inmates, but according to official figures the facility houses between 14,000 and 15,000 prisoners.