Fire razes Guyana dormitory, killing at least 19 children, mainly Indigenous girls

GEORGETOWN, Guyana - An overnight fire raced through a dormitory in Guyana, killing at least 19 students who were trapped and injuring several others at a government boarding school as authorities probe whether it was intentionally set. All but one of the victims were Indigenous girls, officials said Monday.

''This is a horrific incident. It's tragic. It's painful,'' President Irfaan Ali said, adding that his government was mobilizing all possible resources as he requested help from the region to identify the remains of 13 bodies.

The fire broke out at about 10:50 p.m. Sunday in the dormitory building of a secondary school that serves remote, mostly Indigenous villages and is located in the border town of Mahdia, a gold and diamond mining community about 200 miles (320 kilometers) south of the capital, Georgetown, the government said in a statement.

https://www.startribune.com/fire-razes-guyana-dormitory-killing-at-least-19-children-mainly-indigenous-girls/600276762/