Indonesia Prison Fire
Indonesia prison fire leaves 41 people dead
Jakarta: As many as 41 people died as fire broke out in an overcrowded prison in Indonesia's capital city Jakarta on Wednesday.
The blaze at Tangerang prison broke out on Wednesday as most of the inmates slept. Guards unlocked some cells but had to leave as the fire raged, BBC reported.
There were 122 inmates staying in the worst-affected Block C - far more than the 40-person capacity, the British media reported.
According to reports, two foreigners from Portugal and South Africa were among those who died in the fire.
Indonesia's Minister of Law and Human Rights Yasonna Laoly said in a press conference as quoted by BBC that the embassies of the respective countries had been informed.
"The fire spread quickly and there was no time to open some cells... When the guards found out, the fire had already spread, and that's where we found the victims," Yasonna told a press conference.
He said that an electrical short-circuit was thought to be the cause of the blaze.
An investigation into the matter is still going on.
The jail was built in 1972 and its electrical system had not been updated since then, he said.
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