A hearth broke out at a boarding faculty in Gilgil, about 120 kilometers west of Kenya’s capital Nairobi, killing 16 college students, authorities stated.
Dozens of different college students have been injured and brought to hospital, however 71 have been later discharged and 7 have been admitted for additional therapy, Training Minister Julius Ogunba stated throughout a go to to the scene of the hearth.
The hearth at Naibi Ladies’ Faculty broke out early Thursday morning whereas college students have been sleeping.
Police stated authorities haven’t but decided the reason for the hearth, however search and rescue operations are underway. The Kenya Purple Cross stated emergency responders have been on the bottom to offer help.
Inside Minister Kipchumba Murkomen was amongst these gathered on the faculty to specific his condolences to the bereaved household.
“This can be a very worrying second, and with 16 individuals confirmed lifeless thus far, we ask Kenyans to face with the households… in our prayers and assist.
“I ask everybody to be affected person and keep away from hypothesis,” he stated.
Earlier, police commander Masoud Mwini advised mother and father and crowds exterior the college: “It is a unhappy and tragic scenario.”
Fires in Kenyan boarding colleges will not be unusual, and several other deadly incidents have been reported in recent times. A lot of the fires are brought on by arson, and college students who’re dissatisfied with self-discipline or dwelling circumstances are held accountable, however some are brought on by accidents.
Overcrowding in dormitories and failure to observe security pointers, reminiscent of leaving exits open and unlocking home windows, are sometimes blamed for the excessive variety of casualties.
Police stated the hearth in Gilgil broke out round 1am native time (22pm GMT on Wednesday) and gutted a dormitory block housing about 220 college students.
Mwini stated some college students fled to close by areas in the course of the chaos and have been nonetheless being traced.
“As we communicate, officers are combing the realm as some college students fled in shock and concern in the course of the night time,” he stated.
Mr Mwinyi stated the investigation was ongoing. The varsity is on lockdown and solely mother and father are allowed on the premises.
Wambui Nderitu, whose cousin is a scholar on the faculty, stated households who got here to the scene have been met with confusion and concern.
“After we arrived on the faculty, we have been requested to get in line. Most of us have been very apprehensive as a result of we had heard that some college students had died and others have been injured and hospitalized.”
He stated some college students have been injured by leaping from the higher flooring of the dormitory in an try to flee.
“A few of the individuals on the highest ground needed to leap and have been injured.”
Nderitu stated her cousin survived the hearth however suffered a damaged leg. “I discovered her…she’s high-quality…however she has a damaged leg,” she defined.
Kenya has an extended historical past of college fires, with the worst case occurring in 2001 when some college students set a dormitory on hearth in Machakos County, southeast of the capital, killing 67 college students.
No less than 21 individuals died in a dormitory hearth in central Kenya in 2024, and related incidents occurred in 2022 and 2017, leading to deaths, accidents and destruction at colleges.
In November 2021, the Ministry of Training printed a response to a parliamentary committee looking for extra data on faculty arson, revealing that there have been 126 such incidents between January and November 2020.
Reuters cited analysis from 2018, which stated 60 incidents of arson have been recorded that yr.
