At least 20 students died on Monday in an overnight fire that trapped victims in the school dormitory in Guyana, South America.

The incident, which happened around 10:50; pm at Mahdia Secondary School, affected mostly girls.

Several people were injured and some were admitted to the hospital in the country’s capital, Georgetown, for special care.

The school serves mostly indigenous children between the ages of 12 to 18.

“This is a horrific incident. It’s tragic. It’s painful,” President Irfaan Ali said, adding that his government was mobilising all resources to care for the survivors

Mr Ali said officials were contacting parents and mobilising psychologists to help deal with those affected by the fire.

“This is a major disaster. I cannot imagine the pain right now of the parents,” he said

The National Security Adviser, Gerald Gouveia said it was too early to speculate the actual cause of the fire, adding that heavy thunderstorms in the area posed a challenge to those responding by air.

“It was a battle for us, the pilots were very brave, very determined,” he said.

He added that the government and emergency responders “made a gigantic effort” to save as many people as possible.