“Nineteen young women” died Sunday night when a fire broke out, possibly due to “malicious” energy, at a girls’ school dormitory in Mahdia, a mining town in a small country in northeastern South America.

President Irfan Ali said on Monday morning that this is a “great catastrophe”, a “terrible” and “painful” event.

Mr. Ali, who has declared three days of national mourning, visited the scene of the tragedy accompanied by a large government delegation, including the chief of police. “We will continue to be by your side,” he assured the families of the victims.

“Preliminary investigations indicate that the fire was the result of malicious acts,” Guyana Police Chief Clifton Hicken said during a press conference broadcast live by Mahdia.

He made no assessment as to what the motive for the arson might have been, but said that “DNA tests” had been carried out and that six bodies had been autopsied.

“Fourteen young women died on the spot and (an additional) five died at a hospital in the Mahdia region,” the Guyana fire department said in a statement released Monday morning.

Last night, the president confirmed the number of casualties, saying that a small boy and 13 girls died on the spot, while another five victims died at a hospital in Mahdia.

According to the latest information from the authorities, 17 more victims were hospitalized.

The previous government tally called for “20 deaths” in a fire “in a high school dormitory in Mahdia”.

The authorities also revised the data on the number of children present: according to the latest data, 59 girls were “recorded” as being in a hostel, and three were absent, having gone to spend the weekend at home.

“Firefighters managed to save about 20 schoolgirls by opening holes in the northeast wall of the building,” the fire department said in a statement.

Protective bars were installed on the windows of the concrete building.

Air transportation of the injured and sending medical assistance is difficult due to heavy rains in the region, emergency services said.

The city of Mahdia is located about 200 kilometers south of the capital, Georgetown, but getting there by car by road is difficult, mostly taking the whole day.

The fire broke out in a women’s dormitory occupied by students “11-12 and 16-17 years old,” a source close to emergency services said on condition of anonymity.

The building is completely destroyed, the roof is completely collapsed, and traces of flame and smoke are visible on the walls.

On Monday afternoon, about 50 people demonstrated to express their anger in the village of Chenapau, near Mahdia, where some of the victims were from, Georgetown resident Michael McGarrel, who lost two nieces, told AFP by phone. .

“Deep Study”

“Irons for prisoners. We need justice,” the poster read.

“Pain, agony, trauma… Who is to blame? And what do we say to parents? asked Mr. McGarrell, an activist for the Amerindian People’s Association (APA), a non-governmental organization that has frequently clashed with the government over issues ranging from fundamental rights to gold exploration and, more recently, the sale of broadcasting rights to carbon dioxide and American oil. . Hess company.

“We wholeheartedly side with the families and loved ones of the victims of this tragedy,” opposition MP Natasha Sig-Lewis said.

“We demand that the authorities conduct a thorough investigation into the causes of the fire and publish a detailed investigation into what really happened. We must understand how this terrible and deadly event happened and take all necessary measures to prevent a similar tragedy from happening in the future,” he added.

The small country of 800,000 people, the only English-speaking country in South America, once a colony of the Netherlands and then the UK, has the world’s largest oil reserves per capita and is looking to grow rapidly in the coming years thanks to its exploitation, which is still was not at the beginning.

Experts estimate that there are about 15 million barrels of crude oil in the Guyano-Surinamese basin, as well as large deposits of natural gas.

Source: APE-MPE, Reuters.