Uganda: Fire at boarding school for the blind kills 11

By RODNEY MUHUMUZA
Associated Press

KAMPALA, Uganda (AP) — A police official in Uganda says a fire at a boarding school for blind students has killed 11 people, including children. Police said in a statement on Tuesday that six other people were hospitalized in critical condition. They said it was not yet known what caused the overnight fire that gutted a girls’ dormitory at Salama School for the Blind. A top official in the Mukono district outside Uganda’s capital told local broadcaster NTV that the victims included girls ages 7 to 10 who were burned beyond recognition. School fires have caused concern for education officials in Uganda, where classrooms and dormitories are often crowded, and there’s usually no firefighting equipment in place.