LAGOS, Nigeria (VOICE OF NAIJA)- A teenage student who was upset that her cell phone had been seized, is alleged to have set a dormitory fire that killed 19 children in Guyana, South America.
Recall that Voiceofnaija.ng had earlier reported a fire outbreak that occurred in a school dormitory in central Guyana mining town, which claimed 20 lives and left several others injured.
“A female student is suspected of having set the devastating fire because her cellular phone was taken away by the dorm mother and a teacher,” Mark Ramotar, Guyana Police’s communications Chief, said in a statement seen by the local news outlet Stabroek News.
READ MORE: 20 Killed, Others Injured In Guyana School Fire
National Security Adviser, Gerald Gouveia told the Associated Press that the suspect in the incident, a pupil at the school, was accused of setting the dorm on fire after being disciplined for having a liaison with an older man.
Gouveia added that that the house mistress had been asleep inside the building and panicked when she could not find the keys to unlock the doors. “She made it out but lost her five-year-old child in the fire,” he said.
When firefighters arrived, the wood-and-concrete building that housed the 57 children was “engulfed in flames,” the fire service said.
The building’s windows were heavily barred and five doors were locked, it added.
According to Associated Press, the dormitory had been locked to stop the girls from sneaking out at night.
“The building’s windows were heavily barred and five doors were locked,” it added.