Forty-one inmates killed and 80 injured in fire at crowded Indonesian prison

Firefighters worked throughout the early hours of Wednesday to extinguish the flames at Tangerang prison on the outskirts of Jakarta.

At least 41 inmates, two of them foreigners serving drug sentences, have died and 80 others have been injured following a fire at an overcrowded prison in Indonesia.

Firefighters worked throughout the early hours of Wednesday to extinguish the flames as black smoke billowed from the compound of the Tangerang prison on the outskirts of the country’s capital Jakarta.

Ambulances filled with body bags were driven from the prison to a nearby hospital morgue after the fire was put out.

Relatives of prisoners arrived at the jail throughout the day to check whether their loved ones were among the dead.

Police officers inspect damaged cells following the fire at Tangerang Prison — Police officers inspect damaged cells following the fire at Tangerang prison (Indonesian Ministry of Justice and Human Rights via AP)

He expressed his deep condolences for the families of the victims and pledged to provide the best treatment for those injured.

“This is a tragedy that concerns all of us,” Mr Laoly said.

“We are working closely with all relevant parties to investigate the causes of the fire.”

Officers load a body bag containing the remains of a victim of the fire into a waiting ambulance — Officers load a body bag containing a victim’s remains into a waiting ambulance (Dita Alangkara/AP)

The cause of the fire appears to have been an electrical short circuit, according to initial findings, Jakarta police chief Fadil Imran said.

As the fire was brought under control, hundreds of police officers and soldiers were deployed around the prison to prevent inmates from escaping, Mr Imran told reporters.

As of July, there were a total of 268,610 inmates in Indonesia’s prisons, which were built to hold 132,107 people.

Police officers guard the main entrance to Tangerang prison (Tatan Syuflana/AP)

The government has acknowledged the problem of over-crowding in prisons – with more than half of the system’s inmates being held on narcotics offences as a result of the country’s war on drugs.

It said it was planning to refocus its approach towards drug offenders to start looking at them as addicts who need treatment, rather than criminals, in the hope of dramatically reducing prison numbers.

Reynhard Silitonga, head of corrections at the ministry of law and human rights, said that if there was not a change in policy, the number of inmates could top 400,000 within five years.

Inmates' relatives report to the visitors registration desk at Tangerang prison — Inmates’ relatives report to the visitors registration desk at Tangerang prison (Tatan Syuflana/AP)

A further 64, many suffering smoke inhalation, were evacuated to a mosque in the compound for observation.

The 15 prison officers guarding the cell block were unhurt, Rika Aprianti, spokesperson for the corrections department, said.