Twenty-three killed in Nigerian school fire

Fire killed at least 23 students who were trapped behind chained doors and barred windows in an all-girls high school dormitory in remote northern Nigeria.

Local villagers used a shovel to force open a bathroom window, saving some of the girls, reports the Guardian daily in Lagos.

The fire broke out on Monday at the 165-bed government school dormitory in Gindiri village, 120 miles north of the capital, Abuja.

Police spokesman, Aliyu Yusuf, confirmed the deaths. There were unconfirmed reports that a 24th victim had died at a hospital.

Monday was a public holiday for an Islamic observance, meaning all but about 60 of the school's students were home with their families.

The fire broke out as the girls remaining at the school held an all-night prayer vigil, villagers and officials said. A government statement noted the victims died "praying for themselves and interceding for others".

An unidentified villager said that local residents came to try to rescue the girls, but were blocked by iron bars on the windows and the locked, chained doors.

The villager said the doors had been chained to keep the girls from sneaking out at night. Nigerian state-run radio said the fire was started by an overturned kerosene lantern.

School authorities have refused to release the bodies to parents, saying the remains were burned too badly for identification. The bodies were buried instead at a cemetery across from the school.

Local authorities announced an official investigation and has declared Tuesday and Wednesday to be public holidays "in sympathy with families of the victims". An official three-day period of mourning was due to start locally on Friday.