Mahdia Mayor David Adams, who made a statement about the fire that broke out in a secondary school girls’ dormitory in Mahdia, a mining town in Guyana’s capital, Georgetown, stated that the fire was started by a student.
“I can confirm that the fire was started by a student,” Adams said, adding that the student in question was not injured in the fire. Adams added that he could not confirm whether the student was in government custody.
Priya Manickchand, the Guyana Police Service and Guyana Education Minister, has yet to confirm Adams’ statement. “I don’t want to talk about where the investigation is going,” Manickchand said in a statement.
When asked about allegations that there is no modern fire alarm system in the dormitory and that students do not have fire drills, Manickchand said, “All this is being investigated and information will be given.”
20 students, the youngest of whom was 5 years old, died in the fire, which was investigated by the police as arson.