Local news reports said those who perished were females in the dormitory for girls.

Mahdia was established in 1884, by the Africans after their emancipation. After the Africans were emancipated a group of them begin their journey in search of gold. They travelled the county of Berbice and the East Coast of Demerara in hopes of finding such. The town was then expanded by the British Consolidated Mining Company into a mining exploration and Colonial Administrative Offices were established. At this stage, the only way to access the town was by water. Giving the need to link Mahdia to Bartica via trail, a bridge was constructed over the Garraway Stream in November 1933. It was named Denham Suspension bridge after the then Colonial Governor Sir Edward Denham. The bridge is suspended by cables, thus bearing the word suspension in its name. To date the bridge is still in use and has become a tourist site.

A five-year-old boy, identified as Adoni, perished in the fire which engulfed the dormitory for girls at the Mahdia Secondary School late Sunday night and into Monday morning.

There were an estimated 57 girls who resided in the dormitory. They were from the mountain villages of Chenapau, Karisparu, Micobie and El Paso.

A total of 19 girls have been confirmed dead, health authorities in the Region have confirmed.

When the blaze was put out, the News Room understand that 14 bodies were pulled from the rubble.

Of the children who managed to escape the building, 29 were transported to the Mahdia district hospital, where five died.

One student died on the way to Georgetown, a senior health official confirmed.

Gouveia described the operation as “a national effort”, saying all major local airlines responded immediately.

Getting into Mahdia continues to be problematic, with Gouveia describing it as a “battle.”

“There was a lot of lighting and thunder,” Gouveia related, but he said “the pilots were very brave, very determined” as the authorities tried to save who they can.

Gouveia said it was the worst among the tragedies he has seen in his lifetime working in search and rescue operations.

“These children did not deserve to die like this,” Gouveia stated.

Apart from Jeffery, 18 other girls died in the tragedy. They include Jeffrey’s cousins Sabrina John, 16; Loreen Evans, 14; and Belnisa Evans,13. They were all from Karisparu Village. The other girls identified so far are twin sisters, Mary and Martha Dandrade. A five-year-old boy, Adoni also perished also in the fire.

Two sisters were among those killed following a fire that ripped through the Mahdia girls’ dormitory Sunday night/Monday morning.

The girls, Delicia Edwards, 15, and Arianna, 13, were not accounted for when rescue services arrived on the scene. A total of 14 bodies, 13 girls and one boy, were recovered when the fire was put out; Delicia and Arianna were among them.

Five of the 29 girls who were rushed to the Mahdia Hospital died.

The Edwards girls, from Micobie village, were the only girls in the family. Their mother died several years ago while their father worked in the gold mines, their cousin, Lucia Charles, told the News Room.

The girls had one brother who attends school in Georgetown.