Feb. 15 (UPI) — A fire has killed at least 15 children in an unlicensed Haiti orphanage that a U.S. Christian non-profit runs, emergency officials said.
The fire broke out Thursday evening, spreading through the orphanage run by a religious group in the outskirts of Haiti’s capital, Port-au-Prince, Al Jazeera reported.
Among the fatalities, seven were infants or toddlers and six were roughly ages 6 or 7, authorities said.
It took firefighters 90 minutes to reach the scene.
Though cause of the fire is unclear, though a worker at the home said candles were being used after a generator failed.
Fire officials told CNN they are investigating whether a burning candle started the blaze.
About 60 children survived the fire, which occurred at the Orphanage of the Church of Bible Understanding, Jennifer Melton, Haiti’s chief of child protection for the United Nations’ children’s agency, said.
Al Jazeera reported that the Church of Bible Understanding failed sanitary inspections in the past due to overcrowding and lack of trained staff.
Most of the children have a living parent who likely lacks the finances to support them, Melton said.
The facility is among two a Pennsylvania-based non-profit group runs in Haiti, housing about 150 children, according to the group’s website. The group also supports many smaller Haitian orphanages, including distributing food.
Haitian President Jovenal Moise tweeted Friday he was “deeply moved” and urged authorities “to adopt urgent measures” to determine the cause of the fire.
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