The government in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) says inquiries are under way after an attempted jailbreak overnight from the country’s biggest prison.

Heavy gunfire rang out early Monday morning from Makala central prison in the capital Kinshasa as inmates tried to break out from the overcrowded facility, authorities said.

Government spokesman Patrick Muyaya confirmed on X that there was an an attempted escape, adding that security forces now had the situation under control.

Al Jazeera’s Alain Uaykani, reporting from Goma, said at least two people were killed in the incident.  He however said the pictures coming from the central jail of Makala show what local media already calls a carnage, but number of causalities has not yet been confirmed. He explained that local media reports say dozens of bodies were taken away from the prison.

In 2017, more than 4,000 prisoners escaped from the facility after an attack by armed men at night. Authorities had been trying to reduce overcrowding, with dozens of inmates released in recent months.

Justice Minister Constant Mutamba said on X that inquiries are under way to identify and severely punish the sponsors of these acts of sabotage”.

He also announced a ban on the transfer of inmates to the prison until further notice and said authorities will build a new facility, among other efforts to reduce overcrowding.