PM Roosevelt Skerrit expresses grief as 19 students dies in secondary school dormitory fire in Guyana

Roseau, Dominica: Dr Roosevelt Skerrit, Prime Minister of the Commonwealth of Dominica, expressed grief and condolence towards the families of the students who lost their lives during the fire at secondary school dormitory fire.

He expressed pain and outlined that this incident has brought shockwaves to the Caribbean region. “I am deeply saddened to hear about the tragic death of 19 students who perished in a secondary school dormitory fire in Mahdia, Guyana, late Sunday,” PM Skerrit outlined through a social media post.

He furthermore mentioned that the people and government of Dominica are together with each and every student and their family who are hospitalized and healing with critical injuries. “I will pray for strength for their families and healing for those hospitalized with critical injuries,” he stated.

“The Government and people of Dominica extend sincere condolences to the grieving families and stand in solidarity with the Government as well as the people of Guyana,” he continued.

According to the officials from Guyana, around 20 students died in the fire incident, including a 5-year-old child. It was reported that fire broke out just after midnight on Monday. The students were trapped as fire engulfed the secondary school dormitory.

The government of Guyana has expressed grief and sorrow as well as also highlighted that the emergency service providers are trying their best but are struggling because of the bad weather.

As per the preliminary information by the Guyanese Police, no suspects have been identified, and it is expected that the blaze may have been started maliciously.

The local government has announced that a special centre has been set up in the nation’s capital Georgetown, where some of the highly injured students will be shifted there for better treatment.

President of Guyana, Dr Irfaan Ali, expressed sadness and mentioned, “This is a major disaster. It is horrible; it is painful.”