A fire outbreak in a school dorm in Guyana resulted in the tragic deaths of at least 20 children while they were sleeping, media reports stated on Monday.
The fire broke out at approximately 11:40 p.m. on Sunday night at Mahdia Secondary School in central Guyana. President Irfaan Ali described it as a "major disaster".
Horrific, painful incident: Guyana President
"This is a horrific incident and its tragic, it is painful and I cannot imagine the pain of the parents and of the children, and as a country we will have to deal with this," the President was quoted as saying in a statement.
A total of five planes have taken off to provide assistance to health officials. Their mission is to transport seven children to Georgetown for medical treatment, reports said.
Many children still missing: Local media
Local media reports indicate that a significant number of children are still missing and their whereabouts are unknown.
Situated in a region renowned for gold mining, Mahdia town accommodates students from neighboring towns and villages at the school.
Opposition calls for probe in incident
Opposition MP Natasha Singh-Lewis has demanded an inquiry into the cause of the fire.
"We need to understand how this most horrific and deadly incident occurred and take all necessary measures to prevent such a tragedy from happening again," she was quoted as saying by news agency AFP.
Guyana, a country with a population of 800,000, is an English-speaking nation that was previously under Dutch and British colonial rule. It possesses the world's largest per capita oil reserves, and it anticipates that this valuable resource will facilitate rapid development in the country.
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