Fire at Indonesian prison kills at least 41 inmates

JAKARTA, Indonesia

At least 41 inmates were killed early Wednesday when a massive fire raged through a prison in Indonesia's Banten province on the outskirts of the capital Jakarta.

Eight people were seriously injured and 72 others suffered minor injuries, Jakarta police chief Fadil Imran told a press conference.

He said the fire broke in Block 2C of Tangerang Prison, which was occupied by 122 drug offenders, at around 1:45 a.m. local time (18:45 GMT Tuesday) and lasted about two hours.

"The next step is to investigate the cause of the fire, and a team from the Forensic Laboratory Center is working on it," he said, adding that based on initial information it was caused by a short circuit.

The Ministry of Law and Human Rights said in a statement that two foreign convicts from South Africa and Portugal are among the victims.

According to the ministry, the victims were locked in their rooms, leaving them with no chance to escape.

*Writing by Rhany Chairunissa Rufinaldo with Anadolu Agency’s Indonesian language services in Jakarta