A devastating late night fire at the Mahdia Secondary School dormitory has claimed the lives of a number of children who lived at the facility. Several other children are nursing severe burns and other injuries.
A final confirmed count of those who died is still to be determined, according to President Irfaan Ali, who summoned an early morning cabinet meeting on the tragedy, before heading to the Eugene F Correia Airport to over look the setting up of an emergency facility to accommodate many of the injured who are being air dashed from the Region Eight community.
The fire reportedly started after 11pm on Sunday night and quickly engulfed the wooden building which housed the high school girls.
A cause of the fire is still to be confirmed. However, by the time the Fire Service in the Mahdia community arrived at the scene, there was little that could have been done to save the building or save the lives of those who appeared to have been trapped.
Many villagers who rushed to the scene of the blaze and attempted to offer assistance were forced to stand back as the flames from the blaze became larger. One woman broke down in tears as she recalled hearing the helpless cries of students trapped in the building.
Back in Georgetown, President Irfaan Ali described the tragedy as gut wrenching. He said the Government with the support of the Joint Services, will leave nothing unturned as the injured and others in need of medical care were being prepared to brought to the city for better medical care.
The Mahdia School houses a large number of students from outlying indigenous communities. Many of them lived in the school dorm. The President said it will be difficult to meet and talk with the parents as they face the gruesome news.
“This is a horrific incident and its tragic, it is painful and I cannot imagine the pain of the parents and of the children, and as a country we will have to deal with this”, President Ali said.
Teams of Doctors and other medical personnel were seen leaving the Ogle Airport for Mahdia to assist in stabilizing the badly injured students before rushing them to the city.
In a statement, the Government said the late night rainy conditions hampered initial medical evacuation efforts.
The APNU+AFC Opposition in a statement expressed its shock and condolences over the incident. Opposition spokesperson on Education, Natasha Singh-Lewis in a statement said the loss of innocent lives is always a painful and heartbreaking experience.
She said the opposition stands in solidarity and mourning with the Mahdia community, and urged officials to carry out a full investigation into the tragedy.
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