26 CHILDREN DEAD, 25 INJURED
At least 26 children have died after a fire triggered a stampede at a school in Bukavu, eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) confirmed the deaths on Friday, saying another 25 children were injured in the tragedy.
The fire reportedly started around 9am on Thursday while pupils were in class, sending terrified students scrambling for safety.
The rush to escape reportedly resulted in a stampede, with many children trapped in the chaos as they attempted to flee the burning building.
Bukavu, the capital of South Kivu Province, has been under the control of the Rwanda-backed M23 armed group since February 2025, following the group’s intensified campaign to seize territory in the mineral-rich eastern part of the country.
The M23 declared three days of mourning on Friday following the tragedy, as grief spread across the city and other parts of the country.
Funeral rites for the victims are expected to take place on Saturday.
The disaster occurred in a densely populated part of Bukavu, a city located on the shores of Lake Kivu and known for wooden houses built along its hillsides.
The fire devastated a wide area, leaving residents searching through the remains of charred buildings and scattered sheets of twisted metal.
Deadly fires are relatively common in Congolese cities, where firefighting equipment and emergency response capacity remain limited.
Experts have linked frequent fires to overcrowded settlements, inadequate spacing between buildings and illegal connections to the electricity grid.
The latest tragedy comes less than a week after a fire at a wedding ceremony in the capital, Kinshasa, reportedly killed 12 people.
Another fire in Bukavu in October also claimed 14 lives, most of them children.
The latest incident has renewed concerns over fire safety, emergency preparedness and the protection of children in schools across the country.
