11 Boys Feared Dead In Boarding School Fire

Not less than 11 boys have died and 20 severely burnt in a fire accident in Uganda while they slept in their dormitories, Police have reported today.

Henry Nsubuga, headmaster of the school in Rakai in southern Uganda, suspected that some recently expelled students committed the crime

The fire ripped through the St Bernard Secondary School in Rakai on Sunday night.

“The arsonists first locked the doors of the dormitories before setting them on fire even when the rescue came it was difficult to evacuate the students inside the dormitories, some would have been saved but died out of suffocation,” Nsubuga said.

“Some bodies were burnt beyond recognition and police have recommended a DNA test to establish their identities and parentage ” he added.

Area police chief Ben Nuwamanya told Nigeria News that 11 students have been confirmed dead.

“About 20 students have been admitted with severe burns and are in critical condition but doctors say some will stabilise,” he added.

He said the cause of the fire is still unknown, and that three people, including a guard at the school, had been arrested for questioning.

The Rakai district lies about 280 kilometres (170 miles) south of the capital Kampala, near the border with Tanzania