At least 26 children and two teachers have been killed after a fire broke out at a Koranic boarding school near the Liberian capital Monrovia on Tuesday night, the president’s office said on Wednesday, September 18.
Emergency services had told President George Weah 28 people had died, his spokesman Solo Kelgbeh told AFP, as the president visited the site in Paynesville, on the outskirts of the capital.
“The kids were learning the Koran when the fire broke out,” police spokesman Moses Carter said. “The cause is not known yet.”
Confirming the sad news on Twitter, President George Weah wrote: ‘My prayers go out to the families of the children that died last night in Paynesville City; as a result of a deadly fire that engulfed their school building. This is a tough time for the families of the victims and all of Liberia. Deepest condolences go out to the bereaved.
Families and the entire Islamic Community. May God strengthen them and give them the courage to persevere. Let’s continue to keep the families in our prayers.’
