Parents of two girls who survived a dorm fire that killed 20 in Guyana sue the government

BY BERT WILKINSON
Updated 10:41 AM CST, February 22, 2024

GEORGETOWN, Guyana (AP) — The parents of two teenagers who survived a fire that killed 20 people at a high school dormitory for Indigenous girls last year have sued the government, accusing authorities of negligence.

The lawsuit is seeking more than $50,000 for each of the two unidentified 14-year-old girls who were rescued by authorities and residents who braved the fire last May at the Mahdia dormitory near the border with Brazil, according to documents that attorneys shared with reporters late Wednesday.

Investigators have said the fire was deliberately set by a student who was upset that her mobile phone was confiscated.

Attorney Eusi Anderson accused the government of failure to properly equip the school with required fire equipment, to properly train staff in emergency escape and management methods, and to provide marked, well-lit exit routes, fire extinguishers and other emergency equipment.

. . .

Anderson also stated in the lawsuit that the girls suffered from severe body burns, smoke inhalation and mental trauma after witnessing the deaths of 19 females and a young boy who died trapped in the iron-grilled building as panicked dorm managers scrambled to locate keys to locked doors.

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