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Fire destroys $100 million in school materials

Peruvian officials say a fire in the government's main educational materials warehouse has destroyed half a million books, 61,000 laptop computers and 6,000 solar panels.
/ Source: The Associated Press

Peruvian officials say a fire in the government's main educational materials warehouse has destroyed half a million books, 61,000 laptop computers and 6,000 solar panels.

The material was destined for rural schools and the blaze struck just as Peru's school year begins. Education Minister Patricia Salas puts the damage at $103 million.

The computers destroyed overnight Friday were $200 XO models purchased from the U.S.-based One Laptop Per Child Association, which seeks to provide the world's most isolated and poorest children with rugged, low-cost computers.

It took firefighters 11 hours to control the blaze, which is under investigation.

Officials say Peru has received 980,000 of the 2.4 million OLPC computers delivered.