40 killed in Indonesia prison fire

SANAA, Sept. 08 (YPA) – A spokeswoman for the Prison Service at the Ministry of Justice and Human Rights in Indonesia said that a fire broke out in a prison in Banten province, killing 40 people.

“An investigation is underway to find out the cause of the fire,” said spokeswoman Rica Abriante, and indicated that the authorities were evacuating the prison.

She explained that the fire started in Building “C” of Tangerang Prison on the outskirts of Jakarta, designated for drug offenders, which had 122 convicts when the fire occurred.

Abriante said hundreds of police and soldiers have been deployed to take control of Tangerang Prison, which is designed to house 1,225 inmates but houses more than 2,000 prisoners.

She added that the fire was put out after a few hours and all the victims were taken to the hospital.