At least 19 children died in a “horrific” school dormitory fire in Guyana, which has shocked the nation and led to its president to declare three days of national mourning, EDnews reports citing CNN.
The fire that engulfed Mahdia Secondary School’s female dormitory killed 18 girls and a boy, according to Guyana’s Department of Public Information (DPI), revising down its earlier death toll of 20.
Thirteen girls and a little boy died at the dorms, and five others in the hospital, the DPI said.
Both police and firefighting officials say the fire was “maliciously set.” At the time of the blaze, it was reported that 56 children were staying in a dorm – a concrete and wooden structure with five doors and grill windows, a police spokesperson said during a press conference.
“Initial investigation suggests, as reported by the fire department, that it (the fire) was maliciously set. Our investigation is continuing, and tests will be done expeditiously on the remaining bodies,” the spokesperson said.
DPI did not report on the total number of injured from the fire but reported that “of those injured, six children were medevacked to Georgetown in the wee hours of the morning, while 17 are in the Mahdia Hospital.”
When firefighters arrived at the dormitory, the building was already engulfed in flames “completely,” according to an earlier statement. Firefighters rescued around 20 students “by breaking holes in the north-eastern wall of the building.”
It took firefighters over three hours to control the blaze.
