By Ebi Kesiena
A devastating fire at a primary school dormitory in central Kenya has claimed the lives of at least 17 children, according to police reports on Friday.
The blaze broke out around midnight at Hillside Endarasha Academy in Nyeri County, engulfing dormitory rooms where the children were sleeping. The primary school serves approximately 800 pupils, aged between 5 and 12.
According to national police spokesperson Resila Onyango, there are 17 fatalities from the incident, while others have been taken to the hospital with serious injuries.
“The bodies recovered at the scene were burnt beyond recognition,” she said.
The average age of the victims is around nine years old. 16 other children suffered serious injuries and were rushed to a nearby hospital, Onyango added. She warned that more bodies might be recovered once the scene is fully processed.
The cause of the fire remains unknown, but an investigation is underway, Onyango said.
Kenyan President William Ruto expressed his condolences to the families affected by the tragedy.
“Our thoughts are with the families of the children who have lost their lives in the fire tragedy, this is devastating news,” he wrote in a post on X.
President Ruto has instructed officials to conduct a thorough investigation into the incident and promised that those responsible will be “held to account.”
The school is located about 170 kilometers north of Nairobi, in Nyeri County. The Kenyan Red Cross has deployed a team to assist in the emergency response and is providing psychosocial support services to affected pupils, teachers, and families.
Meanwhile Heritage Times HT notes that school fires are not uncommon in Kenya and across East Africa. In 2016, nine students died in a fire at a girls’ high school in Nairobi’s Kibera neighborhood.
In 2001, 67 pupils were killed in an arson attack at Kyanguli Mixed Secondary School in Machakos district, Kenya. The headmaster and deputy headmaster of the school were later convicted of negligence.
