Fire and Stampede Kill Dozens of Children at DR Congo Schools
A blaze that swept from hillside homes into two packed primary schools in rebel-held Bukavu triggered a deadly crush of fleeing children, with the death toll still rising and disputed.
A fire that tore through a densely built neighborhood in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo city of Bukavu on Thursday spread into two primary schools packed with children, triggering a stampede that left dozens dead, according to local officials and the Rwanda-backed rebel administration that controls the city.
The blaze broke out around 8 a.m. local time in the Chimpunda area and quickly jumped from nearby wooden houses into the Ujamaa and Furaha school complexes while lessons were underway, according to Al Jazeera. As smoke and flames spread through the buildings, students panicked, trampling one another in narrow corridors and stairwells while some tried to escape by jumping from upper floors.
Death toll figures have varied and remain provisional. A spokesperson for the AFC/M23 armed group, which has controlled Bukavu since February 2025, put the toll at 24 dead — 19 girls and five boys — while other local tallies cited by AFP ranged from 14 to as high as 29. At least 29 people were reported receiving hospital treatment, more than 20 of them in intensive care.
"Most of the pupils who died were young girls aged between six and 14," a local teacher, Innocent Rukiko, told RFI.
A city of wooden houses on fire-prone hillsides
Beyond the schools, several hundred homes — estimates range from roughly 300 to 500 — were destroyed by the fire, along with a nearby clinic, leaving many families homeless in addition to the loss of their children. The cause of the blaze has not been established and remains under investigation.
Bukavu, the capital of South Kivu province on the shores of Lake Kivu, is known for densely packed wooden housing built up steep hillsides, where fires spread fast and often turn deadly; residents noted a separate fire had destroyed dozens of houses in the city just days earlier. The tragedy adds to the humanitarian strain on a city already reshaped by conflict: the AFC/M23 rebel coalition seized Bukavu from Congolese government forces in February 2025 as part of a broader offensive across Congo's mineral-rich east, and the city has since operated under rebel administration with degraded public services.
Congolese authorities and aid groups have not yet detailed a relief response for displaced families, and officials cautioned that both the casualty figures and the cause of the fire could still change as investigations continue.