Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote has joined the world and other leaders to commiserate with the people of Liberia and President George Weah, over Paynesville fire incident that saw about 26 school children burnt to death overnight.
The Nigerian billionaire businessman, Aliko Dangote taking to his social media page on Thursday, 19th September 2019, posted this message saying:
“My condolences to the families of the children and teachers who lost their lives in the tragic Paynesville fire incident. We mourn with the President and the good people of Liberia in this difficult time” he said.
We had a few hours ago, reported the Paynesville fire incident, where at least 26 children were killed on Wednesday in a fire at a Koranic school near the Liberian capital Monrovia.
According to the report, two teachers also died in the Paynesville fire that happened overnight, the president’s office said, citing information from the emergency services.
President George Weah who visited the koranic school site in Paynesville, on the outskirts of the capital, said the cause was still unknown.
“We are here to encourage parents of the victims of the koranic school fire to have strength because it is painful to lose your kids in this manner,” Weah told reporters.
“We extend our sympathy to the bereaved families. We don’t know the cause of the fire yet, but we will encourage our investigators to find how it happened,” he added.
Rescuers at the Paynesville fire site were spotted in white masks and surgical gloves carried the children’s bodies in bags from the burnt-out building as crowds of people and relatives crushed together outside.
The sheet-metal roof of the koranic school building, which housed a school and boarding school, was destroyed.
“I was sleeping when I heard a noise outside. My wife opened the back door and we saw smoke coming from the front. We came out and saw heavy fire at the back,” said local resident Zazay.
Another resident, Ballah, whose home is near the school, said they helped in the rescue efforts.
“We went for water, trying to put it out. We were putting water up to 2.30 am. When the firefighters came, the fire was already going down.”
“We do not know the cause of the fire,” he said.
The fire struck while the children were asleep, said Fulani community official Amadou Sherrif.
In an earlier tweet, Weah offered condolences to the families of those affected.
“My prayers go out to the families of the children that died last night in Paynesville City as a result of a deadly fire that engulfed their school building,” he wrote.
“This is a tough time for the families of the victims and all of Liberia.”