Kinshasa, 11 September (H.S.):

At least 27 children, including 19 girls and eight boys, were killed in a fire that broke out in Bukavu city in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. The blaze also destroyed around 300 homes and two schools.

Bukavu, the capital of South Kivu province, is under the control of the Rwandan army and its M23 militia. The information was reported by the Agence Congolaise de Presse (ACP), the official government news agency of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, in a report broadcast on September 10.

According to the ACP, preliminary information obtained from hospital and school sources indicates that 29 people were also injured in the fire. Of them, 17 are being treated at Kadutu General Hospital, while 12 are receiving treatment at the Kadutu Provincial General Referral Hospital.

School sources said that more than 300 houses were engulfed by the fire. Two schools — EP Mosala in the Bagira commune and EP Nongon in the Kadutu commune — were also affected.

The exact cause of the fire was not immediately known.

Sources said the fire spread across three streets — Kasheke, Lugulu and Elila. The death toll could rise further.

A local resident said, We do not know what is happening in Bukavu. More than 50 people have died in 18 fire incidents within a month. We need the government's help. The new school year is about to begin, and we do not know where we will spend the night with our children.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar