Eight workers died of suffocation while cleaning a septic tank at a prison in Algeria on Wednesday, state media reported.
The accident happened at Oued Ghir prison in Bejaia, the main city in the northeastern province of Kabylie, the official news agency APS said.
The report said the rescue operation was ongoing and that the death toll was expected to rise.
It was not immediately known if the workers were prisoners or outside labourers.
Algeria's Justice Minister Belkacem Zeghmati and Interior Minister Kamel Beldjoud have travelled to the prison.
Algeria's Justice Minister Belkacem Zeghmati and Interior Minister Kamel Beldjoud have travelled to the prison.
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