DR Congo Stampede After School Fire Kills 14 Children

At least 14 children have been killed in a stampede following a fire outbreak at a school in Bukavu, eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DR Congo).

Local and health officials said the incident occurred on Thursday in the Bagira district, on the northern outskirts of Bukavu, the capital of South Kivu Province.

A fire of “unknown” origin reportedly started near the school early Thursday while students were in class, triggering panic and a deadly stampede.

Local leader, Patrice Buduge, told AFP that the fire broke out “while the children were in the middle of class.”

“This was followed by a violent stampede that forced students to trample over one another or look for a dangerous way out; many of them fainted and others lost consciousness,” he said.

Buduge said the provisional death toll from the wider incident had risen to 27, while more than 500 homes were reportedly destroyed by the fire.

However, AFP said it was unable to independently verify the wider casualty figure with other official sources.

A nurse at a neighbouring clinic, Christophe Zigashane, said about 50 students, including several teachers, were brought to the facility in critical condition.

“We received around 50 students, including several teachers, in a critical state of asphyxia,” Zigashane said.

“Among them, 10 were dead and four others died at the scene. That makes a total of 14 deaths, all under 10 years old,” he said.

He added that 27 people, including two teachers, had been transferred to other hospitals in Bukavu in critical condition.

Large columns of smoke remained visible around the site of the fire as of midday Thursday, according to an AFP correspondent at the scene.

The fire reportedly devastated a densely populated area on a hillside, leaving residents to search through the debris of charred homes and crumpled sheets of metal.

Bukavu, which lies on the shores of Lake Kivu, is known for its wooden plank houses built along its hillsides.

The city is currently controlled by the M23 anti-government group, which has seized large parts of eastern DR Congo amid a prolonged conflict in the region.