Hundreds gather in eastern Congo to mourn victims of school fires

BUKAVU, Congo (AP) — Hundreds of people gathered on Monday at a mass funeral in eastern Congo to mourn 27 young victims of a fire that engulfed two schools, as families wept and officials laid down wreaths and made speeches.

A fire swept through two adjacent schools last week in the city of Bukavu in eastern Congo, triggering a stampede as students tried to flee the building. At least 27 students were killed and dozens were injured, according to local authorities.

The fire Thursday started at a house before spreading to the two adjoining schools, local neighborhood administrator Moïse Lubala told The Associated Press. He said several students were trapped inside Furaha secondary school and some suffocated. The cause of the fire remains unknown, but the area is densely populated with wooden houses.

Medical staff were struggling to keep track of the exact number of injured because there were so many, he said.

Annunciat Kujirabwinja Zagabe came to the funeral Monday to say goodbye to her 13-year-old grandson, Tuonane Machara wa Kidogo.

“The last time I spoke to him, I urged him to study hard so that one day he could become like his teachers, and he was doing well at school,” she said barely holding back tears, as her voice broke down.

“That is why I am in such deep distress. I remember his journey through school up to the eighth grade without ever failing a single year, and now, he has died just like that, without even falling ill. He left home for school and simply died. It is horrific.”

Alice Ambika Musafiri, one of the teachers, wept uncontrollably as she recalled the fire.

Musafiri said she was haunted by children's voices calling for help.

“Ma’am, I’m being trampled!" she remembered them crying.

“My child, I can’t reach you,” she yelled back. “Wait until I get the one I have now out first.”

But as much as she tried, some students were still suffocated by the crowd.

“My children, I had no way to save you. I lacked the strength; that is why I saved who I could,” she told the AP, while a friend held her so she wouldn’t fall down from the emotions. “Oh God, those voices are coming back to me. My children, my children — the suffering is unbearable.”

Since February 2025, Bukavu has been controlled by M23 rebels. Congo’s government struggles to exert control over the east of the country, where more than 100 armed groups are vying for control of trillions of dollars in mineral wealth that’s critical for much of the world’s technology.

Health services are under severe strain as the region grapples with the deadliest Ebola outbreak in history that has killed more than 3,300 people, with more than 6,800 confirmed cases recorded.

Corneille Nangaa, leader of the political-military coalition Alliance Fleuve Congo, or AFC, which includes M23, promised measures to protect school children from future fires.

“It is true that many things happen here on earth by God’s will, for we are all pilgrims here; yet, many things also stem from idleness and our own human errors," he said at the funeral.

“As residents of Bukavu in particular — and of the DRC in general — let us resolve, starting today, to take a stand and make the decision to limit such damage through our own actions.”

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People attend a funeral ceremony for school children who died in a fire that swept through two schools in the city of Bukavu, eastern Congo, Monday, Sept. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Janvier Barhahiga)

People attend a burial ceremony for school children who died in a fire that swept through two schools in the city of Bukavu, eastern Congo, Monday, Sept. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Janvier Barhahiga)

A woman reacts while attending a funeral ceremony for school children who died in a fire that swept through two schools in the city of Bukavu, eastern Congo, Monday, Sept. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Janvier Barhahiga)

People attend a funeral ceremony for school children who died in a fire that swept through two schools in the city of Bukavu, eastern Congo, Monday, Sept. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Janvier Barhahiga)

People attend a burial ceremony for school children who died in a fire that swept through two schools in the city of Bukavu, eastern Congo, Monday, Sept. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Janvier Barhahiga)

The Emmy Awards are underway. “The Pitt” and “Widow’s Bay” are generating buzz as they compete for top prizes. The ceremony will also honor the anniversaries of “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” and “Charlie’s Angels.”

Here are some highlights as the show roars into the night.

Mariska Hargitay kicked off the show with New York Knicks star Jalen Brunson in an exuberant pre-taped bit that had her sing a version of “I Love Rock ’n’ Roll” by Joan Jett & the Blackhearts, renamed “I Love TV Screens.”

The first-time Emmy host relaxed in bed with “Hacks” star Jean Smart, ate a burger in a nod to “Beef,” rode a horse and drank bubble tea with Jennifer Coolidge.

On stage, she reveled in the fact that she was the first woman to host in 15 years. The star of “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit,” entering its 28th season, also joked that she never had to pronounce the word “finale” and pretended to have words with Nicole Kidman over her cheesy AMC ads.

“She crushed it,” said Amy Poehler.

Jean Smart was predicted to win her fifth straight Emmy for “Hacks” and did it with style. “What a ride this has been,” she said.

It’s her eighth trophy overall, which ties the all-time performer record shared by Cloris Leachman and Julia Louis-Dreyfus. Smart also becomes the first woman to win best actress for each season of a show’s run.

Smart, 74, who first got noticed in the CBS comedy “Designing Women,” won her first Emmys for guest appearances on “Frasier” and then another for a supporting role on “Samantha Who.”

In the hour before the show opens, the Peacock Theater lobby is as jammed as an LA freeway.

Women wearing long trains attempt to protect them from an errant shoe as guests bump elbows and brush backs trying to make their way across the lobby. It’s time to gird for the three-hour show ahead, which means buying $9 cups of popcorn, $8 hot dogs and $23 beers and cocktails to carry to seats. It doesn’t appear nachos are a popular item — too messy for folks in tuxes and gowns

Meg Stalter, a nominee for best supporting actress for “Hacks,” was dressed as an Emmy statuette, complete with wings and a coat of gold makeup. She even held up a sphere like the real trophy itself.

It was Stalter’s first time attending the Emmys as a nominee. She earned her first career nod for supporting actress in a comedy series for playing Kayla Schaeffer in the fifth and final season of “Hacks.”

Similar to the Grammys held across the street, this year the Emmys are having the biggest names seated at small tables with lamps on them in front of the stage.

Typically, the guests are seated in long rows like a movie theater. There’s still the same pre-show hobnobbing. It seems no one wants to sit down early, knowing they’ll be in those seats for the next three hours.

Associated Press reporter Beth Harris contributed to this report

For more coverage of this year’s Emmy Awards, visit: https://apnews.com/hub/emmy-awards

Jean Smart arrives at the 78th Emmy Awards on Monday, Sept. 14, 2026, at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles. (Photo by Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP)

Host Mariska Hargitay speaks during the 78th Emmy Awards on Monday, Sept. 14, 2026, at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)

Meg Stalter, left, and Paul W. Downs arrive at the 78th Emmy Awards on Monday, Sept. 14, 2026, at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)