School fire kills at least 80 children

NEW DELHI (AP) -- A fire raged through a school building in southern India today, killing at least 80 children and injuring more than 100, a local government official said.
More than 30 of the victims were burned to death, while the others were killed in a stampede that followed the fire, said M.B. Venkatesh, a witness who lived near the school. He added that the school's main door was locked at the time of the blaze.
About 800 pupils were inside at the time of the fire, about 11 a.m., said J. Radhakrishnan, chief administrator of the Kumbakonam district, 1,300 miles south of New Delhi.
The death toll was likely to rise because at least 32 children suffered serious burns, the official, Radhakrishnan, told New Delhi Television. Most of the 73 dead were 6 to 13 years old, he said.
Radhakrishnan said preliminary indications suggested the fire was caused by a short circuit that ignited the thatched roof of an outside kitchen. It then spread to the second floor of the building, which also had a thatched roof.
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