At least 24 schoolchildren have been killed in a fire that swept through two schools and about 300 wooden homes in Bukavu, a rebel-held city in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.
The dead included 19 girls and five boys, according to Dunia Masumbuko Bwenge, vice-governor of South Kivu province in the administration appointed by the Rwanda-backed AFC/M23 movement.
A further 29 people were injured, with 21 being treated in intensive care, the rebel administration said. The death toll is expected to rise as emergency workers continue to search the wreckage.
The blaze began at a house in a densely populated neighbourhood before spreading to two adjoining schools, according to local administrator Moïse Lubala. Several pupils were trapped inside Furaha secondary school, while others were taken to safety from Ujamaa primary school.
Mr Lubala said some children suffocated as they tried to escape. The exit was narrow, and pupils were reportedly pushed over and trampled as they rushed towards the door, with some jumping through windows.
“We were on the avenue and the children had just gone to school when the fire started not far from the school,” witness Pierre Mudahama said. “Ambulances arrived to take away the bodies and the injured.”
The fire had been extinguished by Thursday afternoon, but smoke continued to rise from piles of rubble and twisted corrugated metal. Residents gathered at the scene to search for belongings among the remains of the wooden homes.
One man said he had helped load 17 bodies, including adults as well as children, into an ambulance. A local health centre reported receiving 10 bodies, while another hospital said it had admitted more than 50 students, 14 of whom later died.
The AFC/M23 said an investigation into the cause and circumstances of the fire was under way. The provincial authorities also said inquiries would be carried out as officials sought to establish how the flames spread so quickly.
The movement seized Bukavu during a rapid advance across eastern Congo in February 2025. The city remains under its control while the Congolese government continues to contest the rebels’ authority in the region.
