GILGIL, Kenya (AP) — At least 16 students died in an overnight fire that started in the dormitories of a girls’ boarding school, a government official said, in the latest such incident to rock the East African nation.
Education Minister Julius Ogamba said Thursday that 79 others were injured at the Utumishi Girls School, which has more than 800 students in the Gilgil area of central Kenya.
The cause has not yet been established. Ogamba said authorities would investigate whether the school’s fire safety manual had been adhered to.
Police said they were leading rescue and emergency response efforts about 120 kilometers (74 miles) from the capital Nairobi.
The government-owned secondary school is managed and sponsored by the Kenya Police Service. Many of the students are daughters of police officers.
One person at the scene, Wambui Nderitu, said the matron opened one of two dormitory doors “without alerting the children to exit.”
“The second door remained closed, and even though my cousin escaped with a leg injury, we’ve been told many children are injured and some died,” Nderitu said.
School fires are common in Kenyan boarding schools, with some caused by arson and others by electrical faults.
Kenya’s deadliest school fire in recent history occurred in 2001 when 67 students died in a dormitory fire in Machakos County.
In 2024, 21 students burned to death in a school fire in central Kenya. President William Ruto declared three days of mourning.
In 2017, 10 students died in a school fire in Nairobi. A student was charged with murder.
