DAKAR, Senegal — An attempted prison break in the Democratic Republic of Congo has left 129 people dead, the government said Tuesday, promising to immediately investigate.

       Interior Minister Jacquemain Shabani Lukoo said that most of the dead were killed in a stampede and that 24 people were killed by gunfire, after being warned, as they tried to flee Congo’s largest prison. He said 59 people were injured and cited “some cases of women being raped” during Monday’s incident at Makala Central Prison in the capital city of Kinshasa.

       He added that there was “significant material damage,” with administrative buildings, the infirmary and food stores all destroyed by fire.

       Videos from the attempted escape showed plumes of smoke billowing from the prison and dead bodies of partially clothed men lying on the ground. The situation, authorities said, is now under control.

       Justice Minister Constant Mutamba called the attempted escape a “premeditated act of sabotage” and warned that perpetrators would be met with a stern response. He said in a statement that efforts to reduce crowding in Congo’s prisons would intensify.

       In a report last year, Amnesty International said the Makala prison, which has a capacity of 1,500 people, held more than 12,000 inmates — more than 70 percent of whom had not yet faced trial. Conditions of detention across the country, Amnesty reported, “remained appalling,” with inmates suffering from a lack of drinking water and medicine. In 2017, more than 4,000 inmates escaped after members of a Christian sect stormed the prison to free their group leader.

       Asked to comment, a spokeswoman for Congo President Félix Tshisekedi referred to statements by the interior minister and prime minister.

       Prime Minister Judith Suminwa Tuluka interrupted a trip and returned to Kinshasa following news of the attempted escape, her office said in a statement. She will be “personally coordinating” management of the crisis and has ordered prison officials to strengthen security, her office said in a statement.

       Ombuor reported from Nairobi.