BUKAVU, DR Congo, Sept. 12 (Xinhua) -- Ten photographs from the same family were pinned side by side on a wall in the fire-hit Kadutu neighborhood of Bukavu, the capital of South Kivu Province in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
Residents stopped before the portraits, speaking quietly among themselves. Others stood in silence, their eyes fixed on the faces of those who had died from Thursday's fire.
Around them, the scars of the tragedy were everywhere: blackened walls, homes reduced to ashes, sheets of metal twisted by the heat and personal belongings scattered among the debris.
The death toll has risen to 29, all of them students, according to a report released by local authorities late Thursday. Another 25 students were hospitalized, four of them in unstable condition. The blaze destroyed two schools and more than 300 homes in the neighborhood.
For residents of the affected area, the deepest loss is the children who will never return home.
Sitting amid the charred remains of her house, Maman Rachelle Munigi looked over what was left of her home. "Many people are grieving, not only because they have lost members of their own families, but also because they have lost students from this neighborhood," she told Xinhua.
Fires are not uncommon in Bukavu, but residents said they could not recall another blaze that had claimed the lives of so many children.
"Bukavu may have long been used to fires. We have seen many of them. But Bukavu had never lost so many innocent children in a fire, especially schoolchildren," said Bashengzei Chrispin, standing in front of the ruins of his home.
According to the local authorities' report, the two schools, both built largely of wood, were engulfed while students were in class. A stampede broke out as children, residents and parents who had rushed to collect their children tried to escape through a narrow passage.
Serge Chirimwami, a teacher at Furaha Primary School, one of the schools hit by the fire, recalled the panic as the flames spread.
"Most of the students died in the panic while they were inside the school and the gate was closed. By the time the teacher arrived, it was already too late for them," he said.
One teacher interviewed at the site said about 900 students were at the two schools when the fire broke out.
The cause of the blaze remains unclear. According to local authorities, fires were reported almost simultaneously at three separate locations about 500 meters apart. The exact circumstances have yet to be established.
On Friday, a day after the disaster, men, women and children were still combing through the debris.
Some lifted sheets of metal or cleared away charred remains, searching for anything that could still be salvaged -- clothes, cooking utensils or building materials that had survived the flames.
For many families, little was left.
Bahati Mushagalusa was among those who lost almost everything. His own home and another house he had been renting out were both destroyed.
"So many belongings went up in smoke," he said. "Everything was burned, including everything inside. We do not know where to sleep."
The March 23 Movement rebel group, which has controlled Bukavu since February 2025, declared three days of mourning across South Kivu Province on Friday following the tragedy.
A funeral for the victims is scheduled to be held next Monday. ■
