A fire of criminal origin ravaged the refectory of the Mahé de La Bourdonnais college in Saint-Denis on Thursday, November 21 in the evening. There were no injuries, but the damage was significant. The college will remain closed this Friday, the rector will visit the site this Friday morning.
The events took place on Thursday November 21 around 7 p.m. According to the first elements of the investigation, three individuals entered the grounds of the Mahé de La Bourdonnais college, near the Chaudron ravine, in Saint-Denis. They started a fire in the dining hall. Immediately alerted, police and firefighters quickly arrived on site, but the fire spread quickly and caused very significant damage to the refectory which was “ravaged”, according to the principal of the college.
The three individuals managed to escape. The electricity had to be cut off within the college, to avoid any risk of an electrical short circuit.
According to information from Réunion la 1ère, another incident took place very recently in this college. Two students committed significant damage during the night of November 8 to 9. They trashed sinks and fire alarms. Quickly identified, they were arrested.
Is the arson of the refectory linked to the damage committed ten days ago? The investigation will have to determine this.
According to the principal of the Mahé de la Bourdonnais college, contacted by Réunion la 1ère, the establishment which accommodates 490 students is usually very quiet. This is the first time since his arrival at the head of the establishment in 2021 that incidents have occurred.
The refectory which usually accommodates 340 half-board students in this popular district of Saint-Denis is expected to remain closed for many weeks. While waiting to assess the damage, the entire establishment is not able to welcome students this Friday. Parents of students have been informed.
The rector of the Réunion Academy, Rostane Mehdi, is due to go this Friday morning to the Mahé college in La Bourdonnais to see the damage and express his solidarity with the educational community. He “condemns with the greatest firmness this act perpetrated against a place of education and knowledge serving the students of Reunion Island.”
