An overnight fire killed eighteen children and an adult in their dormitory at a Ugandan junior school near the capital, Kampala. The students were between the ages of seven and ten. It is unknown why so many children were sleeping in the room, which had 63 beds, at the time of the fire. However, survivors claim the death toll could reach 25 bodies.

Police Inspector General Kale Kaihura mentioned “Preliminary investigations indicate that it was homicide,” BBC News reports. He declined to give any more details.

According to school worker James Kiiza, the doors of the dorm had been locked from the outside. The school also experienced a power blackout at the time of the accident, but it appears that the school does not permit the use of candles. By the time firefighters came at the school, the fire burned away most of the dormitory, and parts of the roof had collapsed.  

Some bodies were burnt beyond recognition in the dorm and traumatized parents arrived at the school, which has nearly 1,000 students, to search for their children. Police officials declared they were still searching the site for remains.

A 14-year-old girl who was sleeping in a nearby room, Lydia Namusisi, said she woke up due to a loud explosion. When she and other girls tumbled out of bed, they saw the dorm next door blazing, the Associated Press reports. Teacher Frederick Bugme mentioned there were 58 girls in the dormitory, and some of them managed to escape through the windows.

In March 2006, 13 children died and several were wounded due to a fire that razed an Islamic school in western Uganda. The same year, in July, other six children were killed in a similar fire in the eastern region.