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A fire at a Quranic school outside Liberia’s capital, Moronvia, has killed at least 28 people and many are thought to be children, police said yesterday.
The fire around midnight gutted a dormitory and school building near their mosque where students slept about 7 miles (11 kilometers) east of Monrovia, police spokesman Moses Carter said. Only the imam and two students escaped, he said. The cause of the fire was under investigation.
As at press time, police told the BBC they were still looking for bodies in the building, in the Paynesville area. President George Weah has visited the scene and expressed his condolences.
The president’s spokesman said Weah attended funerals later yesteray.
Police spokesman Moses Carter told Reuters news agency that the fire was caused by an electrical problem, but investigations are continuing. Eyewitness Pastor Emmanuel Herbert told the BBC that he woke up to sounds of the fire and raised the alarm.
“When I looked through the window, I saw the whole place blazing with fire,” he told the BBC.
But he said he could not get into the building because there was only one entrance, which was blocked. Officials told AFP news agency that the victims were 10 years old and above.
The BBC said Red Cross ambulances have already taken bodies away from the scene. It added large crowds gathered near the school in the wake of the disaster, and people wailed and wept as the ambulances tried to get through.
In a tweet, Weah said: “My prayers go out to the families of the children that died last night in Paynesville City; as a result of a deadly fire that engulfed their school building. This is a tough time for the families of the victims and all of Liberia. Deepest condolences go out to the bereaved.”
