Fire razes Guyana dormitory, killing at least 19 children, mainly Indigenous girls

By BERT WILKINSON
Associated Press

GEORGETOWN, Guyana (AP) — Authorities say a fire raced through a dormitory in Guyana, killing at least 19 students and injuring several others at a government boarding school as authorities probe whether it was intentionally set. Authorities said Monday that most of the victims from the overnight fire were Indigenous girls. The government said the fire broke out late Sunday in the southwest border town of Mahdia. It lies 200 miles (320 kilometers) south of the capital, Georgetown. Security advisor Gerald Gouveia said the fire broke out at a school that serves children aged 12 through 18, most of them Indigenous.