A fire that ravaged Burundi central prison in the capital Gitega on Tuesday morning left at least 38 people dead and 69 others wounded, a senior official said.

Visiting the site to assess damages caused by the early morning inferno, Burundian Vice President Prosper Bazombanza said the fire, attributed to a short circuit, broke out at around 04.00 a.m. (0200GMT) and completely destroyed parts of the prison. The injured were evacuated to hospital.

The prison facility in the landlocked East African country accommodated about 1,500 prisoners, according to the jail authorities.

As fire trucks and ambulances rushed to the site, soldiers and policemen manned all roads leading to the Gitega Central Prison.

About seven fire trucks were deployed to put out the fire and several nurses and doctors were mobilized to save lives.

In August this year, a similar fire triggered by a short circuit had affected a section of the central prison but caused no major damage.