- A fire broke out in a prison in Indonesia, killing 41 people.
- The authorities are investigating the cause.
- Prisoners are mainly held in this block for drug crimes.
Indonesian government spokespersons and media reported that a fire broke out in a crowded neighborhood of a prison in Banten province in western Indonesia, killing at least 41 people and injuring dozens of others.
Rika Aprianti said that the fire that broke out in Block C of Tangerang Prison from 01:00 to 02:00 local time (18:00 to 19:00 GMT) on Wednesday has been extinguished and the authorities are still evacuating the facility , Spokesperson for the Department of Corrections of the Ministry of Law and Human Rights.
“The cause is under investigation,” she said.
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Investigators from the fire department said they also regarded defective wires as a source of fire.
She said that the block accommodates prisoners detained for drug-related crimes and can accommodate 122 people.
Rica did not say how many people were in the prison when the fire broke out, but confirmed that the prison was overcrowded.
According to government data as of September, the prison in Tangerang, an industrial and manufacturing center near the capital Jakarta, held more than 2,000 prisoners, far exceeding its capacity of 600.
Kompas TV showed firefighters trying to extinguish a huge flame from the top of the building.
The broadcaster reported that 41 people have died and 8 people have been seriously injured.
“The initial suspicion was a short circuit,” police spokesman Yusri Yunus told Metro TV, citing police reports that 73 people were slightly injured.
According to the Beritasatu news website, the injured were taken to two hospitals in Tangerang, while the uninjured were taken to different facilities in the prison complex.
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