A fire broke out in a girls’ dormitory in the town of Mahdia, Guyana, killing 19 people and injuring more than 20.
A fire broke out in the dormitory of a girls’ school in the town of Mahdia, in central Guyana, on the night of May 22. Firefighters said the property “was engulfed in flames” when they arrived on scene.
14 children died on the spot and 5 died in hospital later. Six people were injured in a helicopter flight to the capital, Georgetown, while 17 students were hospitalized locally.
Scene of a dormitory fire in Mahdia, Guyana, on May 22. Photo: AFP
Most of those killed are children of Aboriginal tribes. The youngest victim was a 5-year-old boy, the son of the dormitory manager. The rest are women, many of whom are sisters and have at least one set of twins.
“The initial investigation indicates that this was a malicious act, we are continuing to investigate,” Police Chief Clifton Hicken said, adding that DNA analysis helped identify 13 victims and will be investigated.
Guyanese President Irfaan Ali arrived at a hospital in Mahdia and met with the parents of some of the victims, announcing that the country would hold three days of national mourning. “There are no words to describe the pain they are going through. It is a pain that the whole country and the whole family must share,” he said.
Guyana is a South American country that was once a colony of the Netherlands, bordering Brazil, Venezuela and Suriname. The 2012 Census shows that the indigenous community represents 10.5% of the country’s population.
Vu Anh (according to Reuters)
