At least 26 students killed after fire sweeps through two schools in DR Congo

A deadly blaze left as least 26 students dead and dozens injured after a fire swept through two schools in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

At least 19 girls and seven boys were killed in the blaze that struck in Bukavu, government officials said.

But the South Kivu provincial government warned the death toll could rise.

A spokesperson for the rebel M23 group that controls the city said that 24 students were killed and 29 people were being treated at local medical facilities.

The fire started at a house before spreading to the two adjoining schools, neighbourhood administrator Moise Lubala told The Associated Press news agency.

He said several students were trapped inside Furaha secondary school and some suffocated.

A mix of boys and girls of different ages, students at Furaha and at Ujamaa primary school, were brought to the Nyamulagira BDOM health centre in their school uniforms, nurse Ciza Jean-Baptiste said.

Medical staff were struggling to keep track of the exact number of injured because there were so many, he added.

Mr Lubala said that "students were pushed over and trampled on" in their rush to escape from the building, and that "the exit was so narrow" that some students jumped through windows to escape.

The cause of the fire is not known, but the neighbourhood where the fire started is densely populated and most houses are made out of wood, according to Mr Lubala.

Congo's government struggles to exert control over the east of the country.

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M23 rebels, backed by Rwanda, took control of Bukavu in February 2025.

More than 100 armed groups are vying for control of eastern Congo's trillions of dollars in mineral wealth that's critical for much of the world's technology.

The country is also in the grip of the deadliest Ebola outbreak in its history, which has killed more than 3,300 people, with more than 6,800 confirmed cases recorded.

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