Four prisoners have died and 61 have been injured following a major fire at Iran’s notorious Evin prison, according to an Iranian state news agency.
Sources inside the prison – which is known for housing political prisoners – have told BBC Persian the number of casualties is higher.
Videos shared online showed flames and smoke at the site in Tehran, and gunshots and explosions could be heard.
Iran has been gripped for weeks by anti-government protests.
Four of those who were injured are in critical condition, Iran’s Mizan News agency has said.
It is not yet known whether the situation at the prison is linked to the recent demonstrations, BBC Persian’s Rana Rahimpour says.
But this could easily be the case, Rana says, as hundreds of the protesters have been sent to Evin.
Those protests first erupted last month after the death of 22-year-old Kurdish Iranian Mahsa Amini in police custody. Officials said she died of a heart attack, but her family disputed this, saying she was beaten by morality police.
 Credit: bbc.com
