Many prisoners are feared dead after a fire broke out in the main prison in Burundi's capital, Gitega, on Tuesday.

Images shared online show bodies of people thought to be prisoners. 

Authorities in Burundi haven’t yet given details on the incident. 

A journalist from a private media house located near the prison says firefighters entered the prison, but a big part of the prison had already been burnt. 

"Many nurses of Gitega hospital were mobilised and we saw them entering the prison to help,” he told the BBC Great Lakes. 

A prisoner who survived the fire told the BBC that the fire broke at around 04:00 local time in the prisoners' sleeping halls while many were still asleep.

The cause of the fire is not yet known.

In late August, an electric fault caused a fire in a section of the prison, but no casualties were recorded.