At least 26 children were killed and dozens injured when a fire broke out in a school in Niger’s second-largest city on Monday morning, according to authorities in Maradi.
The cause of the fire is not yet known.
Three school classrooms made with straw were consumed by the fire, killing children aged between three and eight, local media reported.
The cause of the fire and where it started was not immediately known and an investigation was launched, the Regional Direction of National Education confirmed.
Straw huts are often used to make room for students in overcrowded schools in Niger.
Some of those injured were said to be in a critical condition.
All classes at the school have been suspended.
While it is not uncommon for fires to occur in school outbuildings in Niger it is rare for one to result in so many deaths.
“This tragic event once again puts the Nigerien people in mourning,” the government said in a statement and added that straw and wood classrooms would henceforth be banned across the country.
Issoufou Arzika, secretary general of the Niger Teachers’ Union, told AFP that Monday’s fire had “decimated” the school in Maradi.
Arzika said his union had alerted officials to the danger of the straw and wood classrooms after the Niamey fire.
“It is better to hold classes under trees than in straw huts, which have become flammable graves for pupils,” he said.
President Mohamed Bazoum recently promised to replace the wooden structures.
Three days of mourning have been declared in the Maradi region from Tuesday.
In April, a fire fueled by high winds swept through an elementary school on the outskirts of Niger’s capital, Niamey, killing 20 children.
Since then, teachers and parents said that the deaths highlight the dangers of temporary classrooms set up outside.
