A fire at a school in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo killed at least 24 children, triggering a stampede as students tried to escape, local and health sources have said.
The blaze began on Thursday while pupils were in class at Ujamaa primary school in Bukavu, forcing some to jump from upper floors, teacher Simon Kasamira told AFP.
Local leader Patrice Buduge said the fire started near the school in the Bagira district and was followed by a “violent stampede” in which students trampled one another or attempted to escape through dangerous routes.
A nurse at a nearby clinic said around 50 students and several teachers were treated for severe asphyxia. 24 children, all under the age of 10, died, he said.
The nurse added that 27 people, including two teachers, were transferred to other hospitals in critical condition.
Fires frequently hit Bukavu
The blaze devastated a densely built hillside area, with residents picking through debris from charred homes and twisted metal.
Buduge gave a provisional toll of 27 deaths and more than 500 homes destroyed, but AFP said it could not independently verify those figures with other official sources.
Bukavu, the capital of South Kivu province, has been controlled by the M23 group since February 2025 after the group intensified its campaign in mineral-rich eastern DRC.
The city is known for wooden homes built on hillsides, where fires are frequent amid limited firefighting equipment, dense construction and illegal electricity connections.
A fire in Bukavu in October killed 14 people, mostly children, while a separate fire at a wedding in the capital Kinshasa last week killed 12 people.
