Fire In Tangarang Jail - Indonesia

On the outskirts of the Indonesian capital, Jakarta, firefighters battle ablaze at the prison in the early hours of the last morning. It started in block C of Tangarang jail, where inmates were sleeping in their cells.

Fire Scene In Tangarang Jail - Indonesia

Authorities say there wasn't enough time for guards to open all the cells in the overcrowded facility. At least 40 inmates were killed, trapped behind bars as the flames moved in. Worried families rushed to the prison when they heard of the fire. Masses were injured some suffered burns to almost the whole body.

Fired Tangarang Jail Scene

The jail was built in the 1970s and authorities have confirmed the electrical wiring had not been improved. Since authorities are investigating but say it's likely an electrical fault was the cause.

Yasonna Laoly, Indonesian Law and Human Rights Minister says, “I have ordered the director general to check other prisons too because apart from fires caused by riots they are usually caused by a short circuit.”

Yasonna Laoly - Indonesian Law and Human Rights Minister

Like most prisons in Indonesia, the Tangarang jail was overcrowded, which results in making efforts to evacuate people even more difficult.

Most of the inmates in block C were being held for drug related offences.

The Tangarang prison was built to house 600 inmates but there are more than 2,000 prisoners here. This shows that jail was well over its capacity. Across Indonesia many prisons are swarming and human rights activists say the criminal justice system needs vital improvement. According to human rights activists, fire was not just a safety incident but a defilement of human rights and one that highlights long-standing problems in Indonesia's criminal justice system.

It should be a wake-up call for minister of law and human rights to think about improving prison condition to think about new policy of dealing with pity crime including with crimes related to drug.

The inquiry into what went wrong will endure this week and the families of the dead and injured are demanding answers.

Family Members Of Prisoner At The Fire Scene