School Fire Kills More Than 25 Children and Several Injured
Sad news as more than 25 children have lost their lives and several are feared injured after a fire engulfed their school.
The fierce fire in a primary school in southern Niger on Monday killed 25 children while more than 14 children were injured including 5 with serious injuries.
The council of ministers reported that a classroom made of a thatched roof caught fire on Monday while the children were in class.
The school is situated more than 600 km (370 miles) east of the capital Niamey in Maradi Town.
The region education director Moman Hdi has also reported that the cause of the fire has not been established. He added that an investigation has been launched to establish the origin of the fire which has led to the death of more than 25 children.
The country of Niger has been thrown into a sudden moment of mourning following the fire tragedy.
Learning has since been suspended and the country has declared three days of mourning in Maradi Southern Niger. The regional education director states in a statement.
This incident marks the second time in this year that fire has claimed the lives of innocent pupils in their classrooms in the country. In April twenty (20) pre-primary children succumbed to fire in Niamey.
Following the fire incidents in the area this year, the council of ministers have proposed that are preschool classes should not be held in thatch-roofed classrooms.
School fires have caused a lot of damage especially in Kenya where in the recent past several schools have been closed indefinitely after dormitories were reduced down to ashes by fire.
More than thirty secondary schools have been closed due to student unrest for undefined reasons. The ministry of education and other education stakeholders are working hand in hand to come up with well-laid strategies on how to curb the challenge.
