This is the moment a fire tore through a crammed prison in Indonesia before killing at least 41 inmates.

Footage shows several men fleeing the Tangerang Penitentiary in Banten province as the fire raged outside in the early hours of Wednesday morning September 8.

Corrections department spokesman Rika Aprianti said the fire had been extinguished but evacuations were still underway as of 9 am.

At least 41 people, all inmates, were killed in the fire. Meanwhile, 73 others, including eight who suffered severe burns, were injured. They have been taken to two hospitals in Tangerang for medical treatment.

Investigators said they are looking at faulty electrical wiring as the source of the fire.

Police spokesman Yusri Yunus said: ‘The initial suspicion is this was because of an electrical short circuit.’

The Tangerang Penitentiary, located on the outskirts of the Indonesian capital Jakarta, housed around 2,000 inmates — more than thrice its intended holding capacity — according to government records as of this month.