Fire broke out at the primary boarding school in the central Kenya town of Nyeri.
According to Reuters, Kenyan police spokeswoman Resila Onyango confirmed on Friday, September 6, that at least 17 students died in a deadly blaze at the Hillside Endarasha Academy in Nyeri.
Onyango told Reuters, “We have lost 17 pupils in the fire incident, while 14 are injured. Our team is at the scene at the moment."
She further added that more rescue workers are on their way to the school while the authorities will provide details in some time.
Kenya Red Cross, in a post on X (previously known as Twitter), wrote that the authorities have sealed off the school, adding it has ‘psychosocial support services’ for the affected people of ‘the tragic fire incident.’
Moreover, Citizen Television earlier reported that the fire has burnt students so badly that they cannot be recognised.
President William Ruto wrote on X, “I instruct relevant authorities to thoroughly investigate this horrific incident. Those responsible will be held to account.”
To note, school fires have a long history in Kenya; however, many of them have turned out to be arson.
In 2017, nine students were killed in a fire at a school in the capital Nairobi, while in 2012, eight students were killed in a blaze at a school in Homa Bay County in western Kenya.
