Fire at house party in Madagascar kills 38 people

A house fire during a party in Madagascar has killed 38 people, including 16 children, after ripping through a thatched roof, police said.

The victims – the youngest only six months old – were trapped inside the house in the town of Ambalavato, in the rural centre of the island about 310 miles (500km) south of the capital Antananarivo, when the fire broke out on Saturday night.

The partygoers, including the home owner’s wife and seven of his children, were celebrating the house’s renovation. The owner was away at the time.

“Of the 39 people in the house, 38 were killed, including 16 children,” the police spokesman Herilalatiana Andrianarivosona said on Monday, adding that the fire was an accident. “A celebration had been held following the completion of the renovations to the house.”

The blaze is believed to have started from the embers of a fire that had been used to cook food for guests. It was fanned by the wind, spreading first to a bale of dry rice straw next to the house before catching hold of grass thatch on the roof.

Other villagers tried to rescue those trapped inside but could not open the door.

A 14-year-old boy, one of the home owner’s sons, managed to escape by jumping through a small window, police said.

Narrow windows to deter burglars are part of the design of many houses in the central region of the Indian Ocean island.

Due to frequent muggings and other crimes, the party guests chose to stay overnight at the host’s house rather than return home.

Funerals for the 38 victims were held on Monday.

Guardian