Princess Anne to pay respects after 11 children killed in fire

A fire that broke out at a school for the blind Princess Anne was meant to visit during her trip to Uganda later this week has killed 11 children. Police are investigating the causes of the deadly fire at Salama School for the Blind in Mukono, east of Uganda’s capital city Kampala, which claimed the lives of children aged between seven and 10.The youngsters were in their dormitories when the fire broke out in the early hours of Tuesday.The pupils, according to Mukono district security head and presidential representative Fatuma Ndibasa, were burnt “beyond recognition” and they would need DNA tests to establish the children’s identities.Richard Muhimba, a trader who lost his son in the fire, told the AFP news agency: “No words can explain the pain I am going through.”The incident also injured seven more children, treated for severe burns, while three others managed to escape. Princess Anne is currently visiting Uganda (Image: NBS/TWITTER)The chief of military intelligence, Major General James Birungi, said during an inspection at the scene of the fire that currently there is only speculation surrounding the incident.He told Uganda Radio Network (URN): “All that is currently said are allegations, we have heard the school has had some land wrangles, some internal management misunderstandings and now visiting of the princess, they are all speculations that will take us to the exact cause.”Photographs of the school following the incident show the building still standing but with its windows and door blackened by the smoke and fire.The school was attended mostly by blind girls aged six to 14 but also admitted some disadvantaged local boys. READ MORE: Charles breaks royal tradition when appointing SunakPrincess Anne, who was meant to visit the school on Friday where she would have met some of the students learning workplace skills, will instead meet representatives of her patronage, the deafblind charity Sense International.This will give her the “opportunity to pay her respects to those affected”, a spokesman said.Princess Anne’s visit to Uganda started on Tuesday, when she visited the Medical Research Council (MRC), Uganda Virus Research Institute (UVRI) and London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) Ugandan Research Unit.As the Chancellor of the LSHTM, Anne learned more about its Ugandan branch, which is widely recognised as a centre of excellence in the development of health policies aiming at the control of infectious and non-communicable diseases.Later that day, the Queen’s only daughter had an audience with Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni at the British High Commissioner’s residence in Kampala.DON’T MISS Meghan admits ‘cowering and tiptoeing into a room’ in the workplace [REPORT]England’s ‘greatest monarch’ who you’ve ‘never heard of [ANALYSIS]Royal fans full of praise for Kate’s Antarctic mission [INSIGHT]On Wednesday, Anne officially opened the Opportunity Bank Uganda Nakivale Branch at the Nakivale Refugee Settlement UNHCR Base Camp as the patron of Opportunity International – a charity providing people living in poverty with access to loans, financial training and savings.The royal also delivered a speech commending Uganda for its refugee policy providing support to asylum seekers fleeing political unrest.During her second day in Uganda, the princess headed to Sangano to meet members of the Wenzetu Women’s Group, with whom she discussed how her patronage has worked with the organisation to assist families of people with disabilities. This four-day trip to Uganda, which comes on the 60th anniversary of the nation’s independence from Britain, will also include a visit to projects supported by Save the Children, with which Anne has worked for more than five decades.Among the other appointments pencilled in during this busy visit abroad, the Princess Royal is also expected to visit Save Way Right Way, an HGV truck driver training programme which promotes road safety and works towards bridging the gender inequality gap.During this four-day trip, Princess Anne is being accompanied by her second husband and retired Navy officer, Sir Timothy Laurence.