Santa Rosa, United States | AFP | The death toll from raging California wildfires rose to 31 Thursday as body recovery teams used cadaver dogs to locate victims, making it the deadliest series of blazes in the state’s history. The fires, which began on Sunday, have swept through California’s wine country, …
Read More »Anger in Ghana after seven die in fuel station fire, blasts
Accra, Ghana | AFP | Ghana’s government on Sunday promised to tighten safety at fuel stations across the country after seven people were killed and scores more injured when a tanker truck carrying natural gas caught fire in the capital and triggered explosions. The fire and blasts in the Legon area …
Read More »Malaysia school fire kills 24 children and teachers
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia | AFP | Twenty-four people, mostly children, were killed Thursday when a blaze tore through a Malaysian religious school, trapped in their dormitory by metal grilles on the windows. Pupils and teachers inside the Islamic study centre in downtown Kuala Lumpur screamed for help as helpless neighbours looked …
Read More »Kenya girl, 14, charged over fire that killed 9 pupils
Nairobi, Kenya | AFP | A 14-year-old Kenyan girl was charged Wednesday with multiple counts of murder for allegedly starting a fire at a Nairobi school dormitory that left nine other schoolgirls dead. According to a source inside the court, where proceedings were held in camera due to the age …
Read More »‘Arson’ behind fire that killed 9 Kenyan schoogirls
Nairobi, Kenya | AFP | A weekend fire at a Kenyan high school dormitory that killed nine teenaged girls was started deliberately, Kenya’s education minister said Monday. Fred Matiangi said arson was to blame while announcing the death toll had risen to nine. “Most of the investigations are done and …
Read More »Seven Kenyan schoolgirls killed in dorm fire
Nairobi, Kenya | AFP | Seven teenage girls died in a fire at a Nairobi school dormitory on Saturday, and 10 others were injured, according to Kenya’s education minister. “We have lost seven students in this unfortunate incident,” said Fred Matiangi on visiting Moi Girls High School, a prestigious government …
Read More »Shell shuts down Europe’s largest refinery after fir
The Hague, Netherlands | AFP | The British-Dutch oil giant Shell said it was temporarily shutting down Europe’s biggest refinery after a pre-dawn fire broke out at a power station on the vast site on Sunday. Flames billowed into the sky over the port of Rotterdam after the blaze …
Read More »Eucalyptus gets the chop after deadly Portugal forest fires
Lisbon, Portugal | AFP | Portugal is to reduce the number of eucalyptus groves after the highly flammable plant was blamed for last month’s deadly forest fires. Parliament voted for the measure Wednesday as part of ongoing forest law reforms that started in April, before the blaze in the central Pedrogao …
Read More »PAKISTAN: 123 dead, more than 100 injured in oil tanker fire
Ahmedpur East, Pakistan | AFP | At least 123 people were killed and scores injured in a fire that erupted after an oil tanker overturned in central Pakistan early Sunday and crowds rushed to collect fuel, an official said. The tragedy came less than a day before Pakistan was due …
Read More »London tower blocks evacuated over fire fears
London, United Kingdom | AFP | Thousands of residents from 650 London flats were evacuated Saturday due to fire safety fears in the wake of the Grenfell Tower tragedy, but dozens refused to leave their homes, according to local officials. Four of the five Chalcots Estate towers in Camden, north …
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