17 Schoolgirls die, 1 missing in dormitory fire in Thailand

 At least 17 girls are dead and five others injured after a dormitory fire at a girls' school in northern Thailand, police said Monday. 
The fire burned through a girls' dormitory where 38 students were staying, aged between 5 and 12 years old. 
Firefighters spent more than three hours combatting the blaze before bringing it under control. 
Thai PBS television reported that the doors were locked from the outside, trapping the students inside the burning building. 
Local police commander Colonel Prayad Singsin said that 17 girls died at the scene and five were injured, with one student in serious condition. One girl remains unaccounted for. 
DNA tests will be conducted on the remains to determine the identities of the students, as many were burned beyond recognition, he said. 
Police began a preliminary investigation but had no immediate comment on the cause of the fire. 
Pitakkiatwittaya is an all-girls boarding school Chiang Rai. The foundation-run school offers education to girls of various hill tribe villages within the province.

Source: QNA