Three officials and five visitors died at Yangon's colonial-era Insein prison after two explosions went off at 9.40 am local time near the facility's parcels counter, according to independent news portal Myanmar Now. It was unclear what caused the explosions, according to Reuters.
Police were at the scene and inspecting the site of the explosions shortly afterwards, media reported.
Prison staff and couriers who were seriously injured were evacuated from the prison, while those not seriously injured were treated at nearby shops, according to BBC Burmese.
Insein is the country's most notorious prison and thousands of political prisoners have been sent to the facility since last year's military coup.
MP/PR