Set fire to the school dormitory - 19 people burned inside

Guyana  

 

Girl set fire to home - 19 died 

 

Of:  

 

Niklas Gustafsson  

 

Published: Today 09.30  

 

Family members and relatives of the people who burned inside a meeting with Guyana's President Irfaan Ali. Photo: KENO GEORGE / AFP 

 

NEWS

   

A girl in Guyana burned down her school dormitory after she had her cell phone confiscated. 

 

Locals came to the rescue and tried to save the students but the building was locked.  

 

A total of 19 people died in the fire and several were injured. 

 

Investigators believe the fire at the boarding school in the mining town of Mahdia was started deliberately, reports CBS.  

 

A girl at school was upset because her cell phone had been confiscated. She had been punished by the staff at the school when she had had an affair with an older man according to the authorities. 

  

The fire was started by a girl in the school dormitory. Photo: AP - 

 

The student allegedly threatened to burn down the dormitory and then started a fire in the bathroom, says the national security adviser, Gerald Gouveia to CBS. 

 

Couldn't get out  

 

To prevent the students from sneaking out at night, the housekeeper, who was in charge of the building, had locked the doors at night.  

 

She was also sleeping in the building when the fire started, but must have panicked. The housewife managed to get out but could not find the keys to unlock the building.  

 

Her five-year-old son also died in the fire. All the dead except the housewife's son were girls between 12 and 18 years old who attended the boarding school on the border with Brazil. 

 

- This is a very sad situation, but the authorities will work with the students and their families so that they get all the support they need, says security adviser, Gerald Gouveia. Burned patients were flown to Guyana's capital, Georgetown.  

 

Burned patients were flown to Guyana's capital, Georgetown. Photo: Royston Drake/AP  

 

When the firefighters arrived at the school, they managed to make a hole in one of the walls and save some people. Local residents had tried in vain to put out the fire and evacuate the building. 

 

Nine people are now being treated in hospital for their injuries, their condition is said to be serious.  

 

Help from around the world 

 

The United States has sent assistance to Guyana in the form of forensics and other experts to help with the investigation. DNA techniques will also help identify some of the victims.  

 

- Leaders from all over the world have offered to help us. They called and contacted President Ali Irfaan when he was in Madhia on Monday, says Gerald Gouveia.