Guyana’s Home Affairs Minister, Robeson Benn has proposed the holding of a “Fire Victims Awareness Day” in honour of those who lost their lives during May 2023 Mahdia inferno.
During his contribution to the Budget 2024 debates today, the Minister noted: “I propose we hold a Fire Victims Awareness Day in remembrance of those who tragically died in the Mahdia Fire. We will have the photos of the young people and flowers at all fire stations across the country, at the Home Affairs Ministry, and at the Mahdia dorm site.”
The town of Mahdia was thrown into a state of mourning in the wee hours of Monday, May 21, 2023, after a fire ravaged the girls’ dormitory of the Mahdia Secondary School in the district, killing 20 students.
Screams were heard from several mothers and other relatives who learned that their young daughters, sisters and relatives, were among the students who perished. As news quickly spread about the devastating fire, other family members flocked the Mahdia Hospital, as scores of students were rushed to the hospital, while others were medivaced to Georgetown.
Several of the students were listed as critical with life threatening injuries, while others are being treated for minor burns. The alleged cause of the fire was given as malicious setting, with a teenage student suspect charged.
A Commission of Inquiry was later launched to probe the circumstances that led to the blaze, with a report published several days ago that revealed, among other things, an unequipped and ill-prepared Mahdia Fire Station.
