Most of the 41 deceased inmates were serving a drug-related sentence. Of the prisoners killed, one had Portuguese citizenship, advanced Minister of Justice and Human Rights of Indonesia, Jason Laoli. Another foreign citizen had South African citizenship.
In an interview with Antena 1, Secretary of State for Portuguese Communities Berta Nunes confirmed the death of the Portuguese and added that the Portuguese government is now trying to contact the prisoner’s family.
Authorities are still investigating the cause of the fire, but preliminary investigations indicated a short circuit in one of the unit’s cells. According to the Indonesian executive, the prison’s electrical network has not been updated since 1972, when the building was built.
The fire broke out early in the morning in block C of the prison, where they were convicted of drug addiction and drug trafficking and where at least 122 people were in custody at the time of the accidentsince the block in question was built to accommodate 38 inmatessays government official Rick Aprianti, quoted by Reuters.
According to the latest official figures released by the government, more than 2,000 inmates are held in Tangerang Prison, which has a capacity of only 600 inmates.
“The situation is now under control,” Jakarta Police Chief Fadil Imran told reporters, confirming that at least 41 prisoners died, 80 were hospitalized, eight of them received severe burns.
An official told reporters that hundreds of police officers and soldiers were stationed around the prison to prevent inmates from escaping after the fire.
Television showed firefighters struggling to extinguish the flames as puffs of black smoke burst from the room. Dozens of bodies in orange bags were placed in a prison cell.
(with Lusa)
