Preliminary assessment showed that 11 people died in Wednesday’s attempted prison break in Sierra Leone, APA learnt on Friday.
State Broadcaster, SLBC cited the country’s Vice President, Dr Mohamed Juldeh Jalloh, making the revelation after a conducted tour of the maximum security Pademba Road prison on Thursday, where the incident happened.
The riots by the inmates led to the setting up of a huge blaze which gutted parts of the prison, including its kitchen, reception and a workshop.
According to Vice President Jalloh, 10 of the dead are inmates, while one is a prison guard. There were 42 injuries, 29 of which are inmates.
The government said it has instituted a comprehensive investigation into the cause of the incident and how it was handled.
The VP’s visit was meant to assess the impact of the incident ahead of commencement of rehabilitation work on the over a century old facility.
KC/abj/APA