Republished October 06, 2017 - 1:29 PM
Original Publication Date October 06, 2017 - 10:36 AM
SAO PAULO - The death toll from a day care centre fire in southeastern Brazil rose to nine on Friday as two 4-year-old girls died of burns while being treated in a hospital.
A firefighter in the city of Janauba in the state of Minas Gerais said by telephone that Cecilia Davina Goncalves Dias and Yasmin Medeiros Salvino died Friday afternoon due to burns that covered most of their bodies.
He said that 4-year-old Renan Nicolas Santos died Thursday night due to burns that covered 90 per cent of his body.
The firefighter declined to give his name.
Four other children and a teacher died on Thursday when a guard doused the "Innocent People" day care centre in Janauba with alcohol and set it alight. The guard, who had helped with security at the centre since 2008, died hours later in a local hospital.
Local police chief Bruno Fernandes Barbosa told the G1 news portal that the teacher, 43-year-old Helley Abreu Batista, grappled with the guard "in an attempt to save the children."
Her conduct was heroic," he said. "She was there to protect all those children."
Janauba Mayor Carlos Isaildon Mendes has declared a seven-day mourning period.
News from © The Associated Press, 2017