The number of children killed in a fire at Kabarole Islamic Primary School in Fort Portal has risen to 13.
The children were killed after a fire gutted their dormitory in the early hours of this morning.
The Kabarole District Police Chief, Paddy Musana, says about 11 children were burned in the dormitory, while others died during the course of the day from extensive burns.
Musana says excavation and rescue efforts and the school are continuing and it is too soon to say how many of the 70 children resident in the dormitory were injured in the incident.
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Cue out: i# be accounted for.i
Musana says it is suspected that the fire was sparked off by an ill-placed candle in the dormitory. The candle was placed near one of the pupil's beds, which caught fire. The flames quickly spread through the entire dormitory, burning down the entire block. Fort Portal does not have fire rescue services and all the property in the dormitory was lost to the fire.
Musana says the Fort Portal town did not have electricity at the time the fire broke out shortly after midnight.
The atmosphere Fort Portal town is sombre are residents take in the horror of last night's inferno. Hundreds of parents and locals wailing and crying at the sight of the remains of the children who were burned beyond recognition. Many parents took their children back home, while others stayed to help in the rescue efforts.
Gideon Ruta, a local resident of Fort Portal who participated in the rescue effort, says the smell of burning flesh was overwhelming and the blaze was not put off until about 8 a.m. today.
A medical team from Buhinga Hospital and the Uganda Red Cross Society are at the school treating the injured, many who suffered a range of burns.
Kabarole Islamic is a private primary school with both a day and boarding section. More than 70 children from Primary One to Primary Five lived in the burned dormitory.
