Niger: ‘Total mourning’ as 20 pre-school children perish in fire

Cause of fire under investigation but teachers have highlighted problem of putting classrooms in makeshift huts.

People in Niger are mourning 20 pre-school children – aged between three and five – trapped in the flames of a horrific fire at a school on the outskirts of the country’s capital, Niamey. The young victims perished on Tuesday when the blaze tore through buildings made of wood and straw in the impoverished poor “Pays-Bas” neighbourhood that was built in a former clay quarry near Niamey airport. On Wednesday, anguished parents and teachers gathered at the school. Wiping away tears with her veil, the school’s director Habiba Gaya said all of Niger was in “total mourning”.