Hundreds mourn school fire victims

Hundreds of people gathered on Monday at a mass funeral in eastern Congo to mourn 27 young victims of a fire that engulfed two schools, as families wept and officials laid down wreaths and made speeches.

A fire swept through two adjacent schools last week in the city of Bukavu in eastern Congo, triggering a stampede as students tried to flee the building. At least 27 students were killed and dozens were injured, according to local authorities.

The fire on Thursday started at a house before spreading to the two adjoining schools, local neighbourhood administrator Moïse Lubala told The Associated Press (AP). He said several students were trapped inside Furaha secondary school and some suffocated. The cause of the fire remains unknown, but the area is densely populated with wooden houses. Medical staff were struggling to keep track of the exact number of injured because there were so many, he said.