By Goth Mohamed Goth
Forty-eight people were today seriously injured in a fire at the Da’wa Institute of Religious Studies.
Firefighters rushed to the scene and rescued those situated inside the learning institution; the injured were rushed to Hargeisa General Hospital for treatment.
Among the injured were forty women and eight men, as well as a firefighter who was rescuing people inside the building.
Brigadier General Ahmed Mohamed Hassan (Swahili), the commander of the Somaliland Fire Brigade, Mr. Abdurrahman Mahmoud Aideed, the Mayor of Hargeisa and Mr. Jama Haji Ahmed, the Governor of Marodijeh region, while speaking to the media called on the general public to set up exits in the event of a fire and at the same time commended the quick response of the Somaliland Fire Brigade.
Up to 250 students were in attendance at the time the fire broke in the two-story building consisting of 20 rooms and a mosque. Most of the students suffered smoke inhalation injuries as they gathered at the top floor to escape the fire that had engulfed most of the ground floor.
