Fifteen children have died in Haiti after a fire swept through an orphanage on the outskirts of the capital, SIA reports.
The cause of the fire was being investigated, but reports citing staff and children said candles were being used instead of electricity. The orphanage, run by a US-based Christian group, was one of hundreds in Haiti operating without official authorisation. Authorities are now working to support and re-house the surviving children.
Arielle Jeanty Villedrouin, director of the Institute for Social Welfare, said that, at the time of the fire, about 60 children were living in the unlicensed orphanage, operated by the Pennsylvania-based Church of Bible Understanding. The fire at the orphanage, located south of the capital Port-au-Prince, began on Thursday evening. Officials said two children were killed in the blaze and 13 others died at hospital as a result of smoke inhalation.
Candles had been lit on the night of the fire because the building's generator was broken, according to reports. She said it did not meet basic standards, describing the living conditions there as "truly, truly neglected". "All we see are children living like animals," she said, adding that there were no fire extinguishers. On its website, the Church of Bible Understanding says it opened its first orphanage in Haiti 40 years ago. The organisation said its "primary goal" was to "spread the Gospel to any and all who will receive it". It has not yet commented on the fire.
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