Fire at Islamic school kills 13 boys in Myanmar

     
A fire caused by faulty electrical equipment killed 13 boys at an Islamic school in Yangon on Tuesday, the fire service said, although some Muslims voiced concern since it came after a wave of anti-Muslim violence in Buddhist-majority Myanmar.                 

The boys suffocated after the fire broke out in a dormitory of the school in the central, multi-ethnic Botataung district of the former capital at about 2:40 a.m. (2010 GMT on Monday), neighbors and officials said.                

Yangon Region Fire Service said it was setting up a team to investigate the fire with the police, the electricity company and representatives from Muslim groups.                

"The fire, caused by the overheating of the transformer placed under the staircase, spread, trapping the boys sleeping in the attic. As a result, 13 twelve-year-old boys died of suffocation after inhaling smoke," a duty fire officer said, reading from a statement.                 

Armed riot police cordoned off the area but the crowd that had assembled in the area remained peaceful.                               

According to official records, electrical faults and overheating are major causes of fires in Yangon.   


REUTERS