Police had been treating the inferno as suspicious, after an initial investigation suggested it had been “ maliciously set“. The aftermath of a fire that tore through a school dormitory in Mahdia, Guyana, is seen on May 22 “I can confirm that the fire was started by a student,” Mayor David Adams told the news agency Reuters on Tuesday. News of the suspect’s identification was echoed by the mayor of Mahdia, the gold-mining town where the boarding school is located.

Gouveia added that the man allegedly involved in a relationship with the student is expected to face charges for statutory rape. Leslie Ramsammy, an adviser to Guyana’s health ministry, confirmed that the suspect was being treated for burns at the hospital and is expected to be released into juvenile detention. Gouveia explained that the student, who is under the age of 16, lit the fire in the bathroom area of the dormitory. On Tuesday, National Security Adviser Gerald Gouveia told The Associated Press that the fire started with a teenage student who was upset at having her mobile phone confiscated after she was discovered to be having an affair with an older man. Approximately nine people remain hospitalised, many in serious condition.

The fire, which occurred late Sunday night, was one of the deadliest in recent years for the South American country. Officials in Guyana have revealed that it was a student who allegedly sparked a deadly blaze that ripped through the dormitory of a girls’ boarding school, killing 19 people.

Black teens set man on fire