At least 17 students killed in Kenya school fire

At least 17 students were killed while 13 more suffered serious burn injuries after a fire broke out at a boarding school dormitory in central Kenya.

The death toll could rise, police warned on Friday, following the disaster at Hillside Endarasha Primary School in Nyeri county, as the survivors are being treated in hospitals, News.Az reports citing foreign media.

The identities and ages of the victims were not immediately available, but most were described as children.

The primary school caters to some 800 pupils, aged between five and 12.

The cause of the fire on Thursday night was being investigated, police spokeswoman Resila Onyango said, adding that “necessary action” would be taken.

“The bodies recovered at the scene were burnt beyond recognition,” Onyango told the AFP news agency.

In a broadcast on Kenya’s Hot 96 FM radio, Onyango said a government team is on the ground to assess the extent of the damage.

President William Ruto called the news “devastating” and said action would be taken against those responsible.

“I instruct relevant authorities to thoroughly investigate this horrific incident. Those responsible will be held to account,” he wrote on the social media platform X.

The school is located about 170km (106 miles) north of the capital, Nairobi.

School fires are common in Kenyan boarding schools, where many students stay because parents believe it gives them more time to study and precludes long commutes.

In 2016, nine students were killed by a fire at a girls’ high school in the Kibera neighbourhood of Nairobi.

A year later, 10 high school students died in a school fire in Nairobi.

In 2001, 58 pupils were killed in a dormitory fire at Kyanguli Secondary School outside Nairobi.

News.Az