Fire razes school dormitory in Guyana, killing at least 19 children, many of them Indigenous

By BERT WILKINSON
Associated Press

GEORGETOWN, Guyana (AP) — Authorities say fire has raced through a school dormitory in Guyana, killing at least 19 students and injuring several others. The Guyanese government said that the fire broke out before midnight in the southwestern border town of Mahdia. It is located 200 miles (320 kilometers) south of the capital, Georgetown. Security advisor Gerald Gouveia said the fire began shortly after midnight at the school that serves children aged 12 through 18, most of them Indigenous. He said it was too early to speculate what might have caused the fire.