Hundreds of people gathered at a mass funeral in eastern Congo on Monday to mourn 27 students who died in a fire that swept through two schools, as grieving families wept and officials laid wreaths and delivered speeches.
The fire broke out last Thursday at a house in Bukavu before spreading to two neighboring schools, triggering a stampede as students tried to escape. At least 27 students were killed and dozens injured, according to local authorities.
Moïse Lubala, a local neighborhood administrator, told The Associated Press that several students became trapped inside Furaha Secondary School and some suffocated. The cause of the fire remains unknown, while the densely populated area is filled with wooden houses.
Medical workers were struggling to determine the exact number of injured because so many people were affected, Lubala said.
Annunciat Kujirabwinja Zagabe attended Monday’s funeral to say goodbye to her 13-year-old grandson, Tuonane Machara wa Kidogo.
“The last time I spoke to him, I urged him to study hard so that one day he could become like his teachers, and he was doing well at school,” she said through tears.
She recalled that her grandson had reached eighth grade without failing a year.
“He left home for school and simply died. It is horrific,” she said.
Alice Ambika Musafiri, one of the teachers, also broke down as she remembered the tragedy. She said the voices of children crying for help continued to haunt her.
“Ma’am, I’m being trampled!” she recalled the students shouting.
Musafiri said she tried to rescue the children, but the crowd made it impossible to save everyone.
“My children, I had no way to save you. I lacked the strength; that is why I saved who I could,” she told the AP as a friend supported her.
Since February 2025, Bukavu has been under the control of M23 rebels. The Congolese government has struggled to regain control of the country’s east, where more than 100 armed groups are fighting for access to trillions of dollars in mineral resources vital to global technology industries.
Health services are also under severe pressure as the region faces what has been described as the deadliest Ebola outbreak in history, with more than 3,300 deaths and over 6,800 confirmed cases.
Corneille Nangaa, leader of the political-military coalition Alliance Fleuve Congo (AFC), which includes M23, promised measures to improve protection for schoolchildren and prevent similar fires.
“Many things happen here on earth by God’s will, for we are all pilgrims here; yet, many things also stem from idleness and our own human errors,” he said at the funeral.
“As residents of Bukavu in particular and of the DRC in general let us resolve, starting today, to take a stand and make the decision to limit such damage through our own actions,” Nangaa said.
This version keeps the emotional accounts, casualty figures, political context and health crisis while using simpler, more natural newsroom language.