Indonesian prison fire kills 41 inmates

Relatives of the slain inmates are mourning outside the jail. Photo: AFP

A fire at a prison in the Indonesian city of Tangirang on the island of Java has killed at least 41 inmates and injured dozens more.

Firefighters contained the blaze around 3 a.m. and evacuated the victims. Most of the inmates arrested on drug charges were in the block of the jail where the fire broke out.

Most of the inmates were asleep at the time of the fire.

Jakarta Police Chief Fadil Imran told a press conference that 41 prisoners had been killed in the blaze and the condition of eight was critical, while 72 were slightly injured.

Authorities are trying to determine the cause of the blaze, but it is believed to have been caused by a short circuit.

The Jakarta police chief added that they had inspected the scene and based on initial observations, it was suspected that the fire was caused by a short circuit.

The Prisons Department’s website shows that there were more than 2,000 inmates in the prison, three times the capacity.


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