Disturbing information regarding a deadly dormitory fire in Guyana, which resulted in 19 students and one staff member’s death, is coming to light.
The deadly fire ravaged a locked dormitory at Mahdia Secondary School on Sunday evening.
According to National Security Advisor Gerald Gouveia, the fire was purposely started by a female student, approximately 14 years old, who was angry that her cell phone was confiscated by school staff after “an affair” with an older man was revealed.
Gouveia reported that the female suspect allegedly threatened to burn down the wood-and-concrete building after school officials took her phone to facilitate ending the minor’s relationship with an adult.
Many who survived suffered second- and third-degree burns — including the suspect, who is now hospitalized. Police will transfer the teen to a juvenile detention center following her release.
Officials noted the dorm’s locked doors and barred windows contributed to the high death count.
Gouveia said of the dorm mother who led in confiscating the phone and ensuring dorm facilities are locked at night:
“She did this out of love for them. She felt she was forced to do so because many of them leave the building at night to socialize.”
The dorm mother lost her five-year-old son in the blaze.
Gouveia continued: “This is a very sad situation, but the state is going to work with the students and the families to provide all the support they need. The house mother was asleep at the time inside the building but panicked and could not find the right keys to unlock the building from inside, but she made it out.”
The BBC reported that area residents “were woken up by the girls’ screams” as they attempted to flee the burning building.
The New York Post reported that most victims were “Indigenous girls from remote communities near Mahdia, a mining town near the border with Brazil.”
The United States is among several countries that have pledged assistance, including forensic experts, to assist with DNA identification.
Gouveia reported: “Leaders from all over the world have been offering to help us at this time. They were calling and messaging President Ali (Irfaan) while he was on the ground in Madhya on Monday. ”
The man who the suspect had sexual contact with will be charged with statutory rape, reported the Guyana Police Force.
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