BUKAVU, Congo (AP) — A fire on Thursday in Bukavu, eastern Congo, killed at least 24 students, the rebel administration that controls the city said.
The spokesperson for the M23 rebel group, Lawrence Kanyuka, said 19 girls and five boys were killed, adding that 29 people were being treated at local medical facilities.
The fire started at a house before spreading to two adjoining schools, local neighborhood administrator Moïse Lubala told The Associated Press.
He said several students were trapped inside Furaha secondary school and some suffocated.
A mix of boys and girls of different ages, students at Furaha and at Ujamaa primary school, were brought to the Nyamulagira BDOM health center in their school uniforms, nurse Ciza Jean-Baptiste told the AP.
