Teachers blamed after Indian school blaze

Anguish turned to anger Sunday as the small Indian town of Kumbakonam accused teachers of abandoning pupils to a fire that whipped through classrooms last week, killing 90 young children.
State education minister C.V. Shanmugam, meanwhile, told reporters that all schools with thatched roofs would be closed until the structures were replaced.
Television reports said up to 200 schools in the state would be affected.
Around 75 children, mostly aged between seven and 12, died at the scene of Friday's fire at the thatched-roofed Saraswati Primary School in Kumbakonam, 350 kilometres (220 miles) from Madras, capital of Tamil Nadu. Another 15 died in hospital.
Five of the school's staff have been arrested but angry fire-fighters and devastated parents claimed every teacher on duty had deserted the children while rushing to save their own lives.
Fireman Kumar, who uses only one name, told AFP: "The school officials did not even guide us to the exit points and when we reached the first floor, we found screaming kids within a hall fully ablaze.
"There was just one exit and it was filled with thick smoke. We used benches to break through the concrete wall and reach the children, who were charred to death."
They also alleged some of the pupils had been locked in their classrooms and could not escape the inferno, while district administrator J. Radhakrishnan has ordered an inquiry into the teachers' actions.
"If only the teachers were not so selfish they could have saved many children and the death toll would not have been so high," said Thanjavur district fire officer Iyyersami.
D. Kalyana Sundaram, who is heading the police investigation, dismissed accusations Sunday that teachers bolted a door on the first floor when they went to investigate the fire, trapping many of the students.
"Many students had escaped and that would not have been possible if the grill door was shut," Sundaram said.
"While the seniors in the building reacted and ran away in time, the little ones were too scared to pick their way through the flames towards the exit ... they were found huddled in charred groups when the rescuers broke in."
The president of India's ruling Congress party, Sonia Gandhi, visited the town Sunday and announced a 10 million rupee (217,000 dollar) package for victims and their families.
"When precious lives of children are taken, the tragedy is more," she said after visiting victims at the government hospital here.