The Congolese authorities beefed up security at Bukavu central prison on Monday following an attempted jail break that left eight people dead and 44 wounded.

"The prison has heightened security measures and the police is also contributing to reinforcing security there," said Marcellin Cishambo, governor of the Democratic Republic of Congo's Sud-Kivu province.

"A police squadron of 40 men was deployed," the region's police commissioner, Gaston Luzembo, told AFP.

Eight people died on Sunday and 44 were wounded when a hand grenade exploded during an attempted jail break at the main prison in Bukavu, the capital of the eastern province of Sud-Kivu, according to the police.

Prison breaks and attempted escapes are frequent in DR Congo.

In September, nearly 1,000 inmates escaped from a prison in the eastern Katanga province after a spectacular raid by masked gunmen to spring a militia leader from death row.