26 school children killed in Niger classroom blaze  

Niamey: In a tragic incident, at least 26 primary schoolchildren aged five to six were killed, while 14 others sustained injuries after the thatched-roof classrooms caught fire in southern Niger. 

The school located in the town of Maradi, more than 600 km east of the capital Niamey—caught fire on Monday morning.

“Right now, we have 26 dead and 13 injured, four of them seriously,” the mayor, Chaibou Aboubacar, told local media, adding that three of the classrooms were destroyed in total.

The council of ministers in a statement said that among fourteen injured students, five are in a critical condition. Most of the victims were five or six years old. 

Regional director of education Maman Hdi said, “For the moment we cannot state the origin of the fire”. 

Reportedly, classes have been suspended and three days of mourning declared in Maradi.

It was the second time this year that a fire has killed pupils in their classrooms. A similar conflagration killed 20 children in April, leaving 28 straw-hut classrooms destroyed.

Following the mournful incidents, the council of ministers has directed the concerned authorities to not hold preschool classes in straw-roof huts. 

It is not entirely uncommon for such provisional classrooms to ignite as they are made up of highly flammable materials. 

One of the world’s poorest nations, Niger’s brick schoolhouses are often unable to accommodate all local children, creating the need for improvised overflow rooms.