Fire engulfs boarding school dormitory in Guyana, killing at least 19 students
PBS NewsHourNov 23, 2022
The Facts
At least 19 children have died, with several more people injured, after a fire broke out overnight on Sunday in a secondary school dormitory in the central Guyanese mining town of Mahdia.
According to local media, the blaze started in a girls' dormitory in the boarding school, which serves children aged 12 to 18 from remote, mostly Indigenous villages.
The Spin
Narrative A
The cause of this tragic and deadly incident needs to be comprehensively investigated in order to bring potential culprits to account and ensure that such an event never happens again. The safety of these children was entrusted to the state, but they were failed with devastating consequences.
Narrative B
As preliminary inquires are carried out, it has become clear that this deadly blaze was the result of arson. While it remains unclear who committed this crime, it will be discovered soon, as investigators are now interviewing witnesses.