EIGHTEEN girls and a five-year-old boy were killed in a fire at a secondary school dormitory in Guyana, shortly before midnight on Sunday, in a tragedy that has left the region in mourning.
The girls were students of the Mahdia Secondary School, living on the compound in a dormitory. The boy, Adonijah Jerome, lived in an apartment next to the dormitory with his parents, who were the caretakers.
The Prime Minister has reached out to his Guyanese counterpart, President Irfaan Ali, offering condolences and assistance if needed.
“My brother I feel your pain. This horrible tragedy meets all that we have been enduring on a daily basis. I am here dealing with our constant criminality but this accidental horrific tragedy with the loss and suffering that is added in your area is testing our faith like no other,” Dr Rowley wrote in a WhatsApp message to Ali yesterday.
Ali later declared that as of 4 pm on Monday, Guyana will observe three days of mourning, with all flags flown at half mast.
According to the Caribbean News Agency (CANA), the fire broke out shortly before midnight in Mahdia, which is some 200 kilometres away from the country’s capital, Georgetown. Mahdia is the capital of the Potaro-Siparuni region eight.
The students were from the villages of Chenapau, Karisparu, Micobie and El Paso.
According to 9NewsBreak in Guyana, one student reported hearing screaming close to midnight. The girl said she saw the bathroom area on fire.
At that time, there were 63 girls in the dormitory.
Of the 19 victims, 14 died in the building, five died at the Mahdia district hospital and one died on the way to a hospital in Georgetown. There were difficulties getting into the areas and several planes were used to take the injured students to the hospital in Georgetown.
News Room Guyana has identified ten of the victims, including Adonijah. The girls have been identified as Bibi Rita Fiona Jeffery; her cousins Sabrina John, 16, Loreen Evans, 14, and Belnisa Evans 13; twin sisters Mary and Martha Dandrade; Omefia Edwards; Natalie Bellarmine; and siblings Delecia and Arianna Edwards.
Six girls were airlifted to the Georgetown Public Hospital with serious burns with one receiving “limb-saving” surgery.
The girls were all in critical condition, suffering from burns and smoke inhalation. All six are between 12-14. Two senior doctors were flown into Mahdia to assess the other students and determine who needed critical care yesterday.
20 GIRLS RESCUED
According to News Room Guyana, fire fighters were able to rescue 20 girls.
“Fire fighters did manage to rescue some 20 students by breaking holes in the north-eastern wall of the building.
“Our team is still on the ground investigating as we seek to provide clarity regarding how the fire started and all other necessary information. It is a sad day for Guyana and the entire fire department mourns with you over the loss of so many young children. Our heartfelt sympathy goes out to the relatives and friends of those young souls and our prayers remain with you,” the
