At least 11 students have been confirmed dead following a dormitory fire in Uganda on Monday.
The fire broke out at St. Bernard’s Secondary School, Mannya in Rakai district.
Initial reports indicate that the fire erupted at around midnight when the victims had been locked inside the dormitory.
Some of the victims have been admitted to Manya Health Centre, Kalisizo Hospital and Masaka Regional Hospital.
Reuters reports that Police spokesman Patrick Onyango suspected the fire was started deliberately by a group of students who had been expelled days earlier from the same school over indiscipline.
“It is suspected that they could be the ones that set the school on fire because of anger. They came back between midnight and 1 a.m. and set the school ablaze,” Onyango said.
Police have detained three students and a school warden to help police investigations into the cause of the fire.
School fires have been on the rise in the region, with the latest incident being the third since the year started.
However the last fatal school fire happened in 2008, killing 19 pupils at Budo Junior School in Wakiso District.
