Burmese bury 13 boys after deadly Islamic school blaze

2013-04-02 297

Hundreds gather to bury 13 boys, killed in a fire at an Islamic school in Yangon, Myanmar, on Tuesday.

Officials said the fire was caused by a transformer that overheated in a dormitory where about 70 boys were sleeping.

Most managed to escape when fire officers broke open the double-locked doors to the building, but 13 were killed by smoke inhalation.

Neighbours and witnesses said the doors to the dormitory may have been locked for security reasons, after violence elsewhere in the country.

Burmese Muslims are on alert after 43 people died in a wave of Buddhist-led sectarian clashes, including the fire-bombing of mosques and homes.

Human Rights Watch has released before and after satellite images of towns that were damaged by fire during the clashes.

The rights group called upon the Burmese government to investigate the violence.

(SOUNDBITE) (English) HRW DEPUTY DIRECTOR OF ASIA PHIL ROBERTSON SAYING:

"The message needs to be sent very cl