AN ATTEMPTED jailbreak in Congo’s main prison has left 129 people dead, authorities said today.

A provisional assessment showed that 24 inmates, who were trying to escape from the Makala Central Prison in the capital Kinshasa, were killed by “warning” gunshots fired by guards early on Monday, Interior Minister Jacquemin Shabani said.

Others also died in a stampede at the overcrowded facility, it is understood.