Two people killed and 24 injured when inmates set mattresses ablaze during an attempted jailbreak in the central Tunisian city of Kasserine.

Two people were killed and 24 injured when inmates set mattresses ablaze during an attempted jailbreak in the central Tunisian city of Kasserine, authorities said Tuesday.

"Some prisoners who were trying to escape set fire to mattresses, causing the death of two detainees, asphyxiated by the smoke," a justice ministry statement said, adding that the situation was under control.

Twenty-four other inmates were overcome by smoke fumes, a government official said. They were taken to the regional hospital and five were put on breathing apparatus, the TAP news agency said.

The agency said relatives of the inmates gathered outside the jail in search of news and stoned troops who had surrounded the building.

In late April, several prisoners escaped from the same facility after setting fire to one of their cells.