Witnesses claimed a major fire raced through an overcrowded jail in Burundi before daybreak on Tuesday, raising worries of mass deaths since detainees were still confined to their cells at the time.
The fire broke out at the institution in Gitega’s political capital at 4:00 a.m. (0200 GMT) and burned numerous portions of the jail, they added. According to one source, around 20 wounded persons were sent to a hospital.
The cause of the fire was not immediately established, and no official statement has been made on the occurrence.
“When we saw the flames climbing quite high, we began yelling that we were going to be burnt alive,” one inmate said over the phone. “But the police refused to open the doors of our cells, claiming ‘these are the instructions we have received.” “I’m not sure how I escaped, but there are captives who were entirely burnt.”
According to jail authority records, the institution held more than 1,500 convicts at the end of November, significantly beyond its capacity of 400. According to witnesses, a big presence of police and troops was encircling the spot and prohibiting media from visiting or photographing it.
According to a police source, the emergency services arrived late, with a fire engine arriving just two hours after the fire started.
According to the interior ministry, the jail was also hit by another fire in August, which did not result in any injuries and was caused by an electrical short-circuit.
