Fire breaks out at overcrowded Indonesia prison, kills 41 drug inmates, injuring 80

A fire on Wednesday at an overcrowded Indonesian prison designated for drug offenders has claimed at least 41 lives, authorities said. The fire started between 1 and 2 a.m. local time at Tangerang prison in the Banten province, near Jakarta.

Police spokesman Yusri Yunus said eight were severely burned, with more than 80 others injured. The cause of the fire is not yet known.

Reuters news agency reported that two foreign nationals, from South Africa and Portugal, were among the dead.

Jakarta police chief Fadil Imran told reporters that firefighters extinguished the blaze after about two hours, saying the situation was back under control. "The inmates who survived in the block have been moved temporarily, while the injured have been taken to the Sitanala Hospital and Tangerang Regency General Hospital," he added.

Overcrowded prisons

Block C, where the fire occurred, was overcrowded — with 122 convicts staying there. Rika Aprianti, a spokesperson from the Justice Ministry, told AP news agency that the Tangerang prison was meant for 1,225 inmates, but had been housing more than 2,000. She said the prison officers on duty were unhurt.

"This is a disaster and our hearts go out to the relatives of the victims," said Aprianti.

With poor funding and a large number of prisoners, and amid President Joko Widodo's crackdown on narcotics use and trade launched early in his tenure, overcrowding has become a problem in Indonesia.