26 children die in a boarding school fire.

Twenty-six children have died after a fire broke out in a boarding school in a suburb outside the Liberian capital Monrovia, a government spokesman said.

The children were sleeping in a building attached to a mosque at the Quranic Islamic School in Paynesville City when it caught fire at around 11 pm Liberia time, Presidential Press Secretary Isaac Solo Kelgbeh said.

The children, some as young as 10, were not able to escape the building because there was no fire exit and there were security steel bars on the windows, Kelgbeh said.

Two teachers are also among the dead. While two survivors were taken to a local hospital and remain in a critical condition.

Liberia’s President George Weah visited the site Wednesday morning and later tweeted his condolences to the families of the bereaved.

“My prayers go out to the families of the children that died last night in Paynesville City; as a result of a deadly fire that engulfed their school building. This is a tough time for the families of the victims and all of Liberia. Deepest condolences go out to the bereaved.”

The victims will be buried Wednesday in line with Islamic funeral rites, Kelgbeh said.