At Least 20 Niger Preschool Children Die In School Fire

According to the commander of the firefighters in Niamey, Colonel Sidi Mohamed, the fire broke out around 4 p.m. local time and quickly spread to all the classrooms built with straw, trapping students inside, Xinhua reported.

"We, unfortunately, deplore a lot of victims, more than twenty," he said.

Nigerien Prime Minister Ouhoumoudou Mahamadou, accompanied by the ministers of the interior and of national education, went to the scene of the disaster and expressed personal and governmental condolences to the bereaved families.

"It is really a sad event," he said, promising that all efforts will be made so that "if it is a crime, the perpetrators will be brought to justice."