Fire kills 27 students in Bukavu

In brief

At least 27 students died in a massive fire on September 10 in Bukavu, the capital of South Kivu in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. Local sources told Agenzia Fides that the victims, who attended Ujamaa and Furaha schools, died in a stampede while attempting to escape flames and smoke in the Cimpunda neighborhood.

The fire reportedly began around 8 a.m. in a private home before spreading to the two adjacent schools. Many other students and several teachers were injured and are receiving hospital treatment. The blaze also destroyed at least 500 homes in the area.

Local sources noted that the neighborhood consists of hundreds of wooden houses built closely together without access to roads, water, or firefighters. While the exact cause of the fire remains unknown, sources suggested possibilities including stored petrol in homes, exposed electrical wires, or unextinguished cooking charcoal.