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Tanzania school fire kills 12 girls

Monday, August 24, 2009 DAR ES SALAAM: A fire that started when a student at a central Tanzanian girls' school tried to study in candlelight has killed 12 students, police said on Sunday. The Saturday night incident at Idodi Secondary School in Iringa region, about 460 km (285 miles) southwest of the commercial capital Dar es Salaam, razed a dormitory to the ground. "It burnt one dormitory completely and 12 students were killed. Another 20 have been injured," Iringa Regional Police Commander Evarist Mangala told the British news aency by phone. "We're still investigating (the cause), but it looks like it's from a candle lit by a student who was trying to study at night." Mangala said the school had 461 students.

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