Guyanese authorities said on Tuesday that the fire that broke out on Sunday in the dormitory of a girls’ school in the center of the country and claimed the lives of 19 people, all minors, was started by a girl who was outraged by the confiscation of her cell phone by the administration.
For his part, a government official told AFP on condition of anonymity that the student was injured in the fire and admitted to standing behind him.
A fire broke out on Sunday in the dormitory of a girls’ school in Mahdia, a mining town in the center of a small English-speaking country in South America.
As a result of the natural disaster, 19 people died, including 18 schoolgirls and one boy, the son of the hostel director.
According to the government official, the dormitory administration “seized the mobile phone of the girl who threatened to set fire to the building in the evening of the same day, and everyone heard her.”
The source explained that the schoolgirl is currently in the hospital under police supervision with injuries sustained during the fire.
He added that after her mobile phone was confiscated, the student went to the bathroom at night, sprayed insecticide on the curtain and set it on fire with a match.
This story was confirmed by many surviving female students.
In a statement, the police said: “The students said they were sleeping and were awakened by screams. They saw fire and smoke in the bathroom, which quickly spread throughout the building.”
Although the girls tried to put out the fire, the fire quickly spread and destroyed the entire building, especially since it was partly made of wood.
A government source indicated that the dormitory administration confiscated the girl’s phone because female students are not allowed to have mobile phones.
The horror of the tragedy was added by the fact that the head of the hostel “paniced” and could not find the key to the gate of the house, the windows of which were also equipped with bars.
And the Guyanese authorities declared a three-day national mourning in honor of the victims of this disaster.
