The Uganda police is investigating the cause of a fire at a boarding school for visually impaired students that killed 11 girls, ages 4 to 13.
The fire at the Salama School for the Blind in Uganda’s central Mukono district broke out shortly after midnight Monday, in a girl’s dormitory that was occupied by 17 children.
Kampala deputy police spokesman Luke Owoyesigire said police have deployed a forensics team that will carry out DNA tests before the bodies of the dead children are handed over to family members.
“The cause of the fire is currently unknown. But so far, eleven deaths as a result of the fire have been confirmed. While six are in critical condition,” Owoyesigire said.
The Salam School for the Blind, in the town of Kisoga, is home to 70 visually impaired children.
The fire broke out just a few days before a planned visit by Britain’s Princess Anne and Uganda’s first lady, Janet Museveni.
In the past, school fires have been caused by children using candles in their dormitories after lights out and leaving them burning.
In its guidelines to schools, the Ministry of Education advises that all dormitories among other school buildings have fire extinguishers at several locations. However, most schools do not have such safety measures in place.
