Kenya School Fire Kills 17 Children

AFP/APP

Nairobi: At least 17 children died after a fire tore through their primary school dormitory overnight in central Kenya, police said Friday.

The blaze occurred in Nyeri County’s Hillside Endarasha Academy at around midnight, engulfing rooms where the children were sleeping, according to police reports.

The primary school accommodates approximately 800 pupils, aged between five and 12.

“There are 17 fatalities from this incident, and several others were taken to the hospital with serious injuries,” said national police spokesperson Resila Onyango. “The bodies recovered at the scene were burnt beyond recognition,” she added.

The victims are estimated to be around nine years old on average. Sixteen other individuals sustained serious injuries and were rushed to a nearby hospital, according to Onyango. She also indicated that more bodies might be recovered once the scene is fully processed.

The cause of the fire is still unknown, but an investigation has been launched.

Kenyan President William Ruto expressed his condolences. “Our thoughts are with the families of the children who have lost their lives in the fire tragedy,” he wrote on X. “This is devastating news.” Ruto also instructed officials to conduct a thorough investigation into the incident and promised that those responsible would be held accountable.

The school is located approximately 170 kilometers (100 miles) north of the capital, Nairobi, in Nyeri County.

The Kenyan Red Cross is on-site, assisting a multi-agency response team. In a post on X, the organization said it was “providing psychosocial support services to the pupils, teachers, and affected families.”

School fires have been a recurring issue in Kenya and across East Africa. In 2016, nine students were killed in a fire at a girls’ high school in the Kibera neighborhood of Nairobi.

In 2001, 67 pupils were killed in an arson attack on their dormitory at the Kyanguli Mixed Secondary School in Kenya’s southern Machakos District. Two pupils were charged with murder, and the school’s headmaster and deputy were convicted of negligence.

In 1994, 40 schoolchildren were burned alive, and 47 others were injured in a fire that devastated Shauritanga Secondary School for Girls in northern Tanzania’s Kilimanjaro region.