Reuters: School fire in Congo kills at least 17, including children

A fire at a school in Congo's rebel-controlled city of Bukavu has killed at least 17 people, including some children, Reuters reports, citing local and medical sources.

A witness at the scene said he had helped load 17 bodies of deceased men and children into an ambulance.

A local health centre reportedly received 10 bodies of people killed in the fire.

Another hospital claimed it had admitted more than 50 students, 14 of whom died.

Bukavu has been controlled by Rwanda-backed AFC/M23 rebels since the group staged a lightning offensive in eastern Congo last year.

The cause of the fire was not immediately clear.

Corneille Nangaa, coordinator of the rebel alliance, told Reuters he did not have an exact figure yet but put the death toll at around 10.

By Bakhtiyar Abbasov