A fire in an elementary school dormitory in central Kenya has killed at least 17 pupils and injured 14, with another 70 youngsters still missing, authorities said Friday.
The fire broke out late Thursday at the Hillside Endarasha Academy in Kieni, Nyeri County, according to Kenya National Police Service spokesperson Resila Onyango. She claimed that their remains had been “burnt beyond recognition.”
“The cause of fire is unknown at this time but we will update the public when we know more,” Onyango told CNN about the incident.
According to government spokesperson Isaac Mwaura, the fire started about midnight in the mixed private boarding school’s male dormitory, and more than 150 boys were present at the time.
According to Kenya’s education ministry, the school has 824 students enrolled, including 402 boys and 422 girls. It further stated that 156 of the boys and perhaps 160 of the girls were boarders, with the remainder being day scholars.
According to Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua, 70 children remain unaccounted for.
“We still have 70 children who are unaccounted for; this does not mean they have died or are hurt. They are said to be missing. “We are praying and hoping for the best,” he stated during a press conference on Friday.
Gachagua stated that when parents learned about the fire, they came to the school to pick up their children without telling school personnel.
“I am appealing to each and every parent who took their child from here to report… so that we know where that child is,” he told reporters.
On Friday, Kenyan President William Ruto extended his condolences. Ruto described the occurrence as “devastating news,” saying “our thoughts are with the families of the children who have lost their lives in the fire tragedy at the Hillside Endarasha Academy in Nyeri County,” in a post on X.
“I have instructed the appropriate authorities to conduct a comprehensive investigation into this horrible tragedy. “Those responsible will be held accountable,” his message said, adding that his government was “mobilizing all necessary resources to support the affected families.”
Distraught parents gathered at the school Friday morning, hoping for news as authorities searched for corpses and survivors.
The Kenya Red Cross also issued a statement on Friday, stating that it will provide “psychosocial support services to the pupils, teachers, and affected families.”
According to the statement, 11 children have already been brought to the hospital, and police have blocked off the area where the incident occurred.
The Kenya Red Cross, along with a “multi-agency response team,” is now reacting and has set up a tracing desk at the school, according to the statement.
School fires, which are frequently blamed on arson and overcrowding, are rather regular in Kenya, where similar catastrophes have claimed many lives in the past.
In 2017, a boarding school in Nairobi, Kenya, caught fire, killing at least nine students. The authorities stated at the time that the fire was “not an accident,” but rather “arson,” and was part of a growing trend of purposeful school fires. According to official numbers provided by Reuters, between 2015 and 2016, approximately 350 schools caught fire.
