At Least 20 Children Killed in Guyana School Dormitory Fire

At least 20 children were killed and several others injured in a fire in a dormitory room in Guyana late Sunday night.

A fire broke out in the girls' dormitory of Mahdia Secondary School, 200 kilometers (125 miles) inland from the capital, Georgetown.

"This is a major disaster. It is horrible, it is painful," the South American nation's President Irfaan Ali said.

In a statement, the government announced prayers for the families of the victims and said: "We have lost many beautiful souls in this fire."

Guyanese authorities sent military and private planes to the small mining town of Mahdia to fly survivors to the capital.

Ali said arrangements have been made so that "every single child who requires attention be given the best possible opportunity to get that attention" at Georgetown's two major hospitals.

He also pledged to bring in psychiatrists and counselors to help the girls and their families.

Natasha Singh Lewis, an opposition lawmaker, called for an investigation into the cause of the fire.

"We need to understand how this most horrific and deadly incident occurred and take all necessary measures to prevent such a tragedy from happening again," she pointed out.

Guyana is one of the poorest countries in South America and is home to 800,000 people. It has the second-highest percentage of forest cover of any country and the world's largest per capita oil reserves were recently discovered.