At least 16 students have now been confirmed dead following a tragic dormitory fire at Utumishi Girls Academy in Gilgil, Nakuru County during the early hours of Thursday morning.
The latest update from police authorities also confirmed that 74 other students sustained injuries and were admitted to hospital for treatment following the deadly incident. The fire, which reportedly broke out at around 1am inside one of the school dormitories, triggered panic and confusion among students, teachers, parents and residents as emergency teams rushed to the institution.
Earlier reports had indicated that at least 10 students were feared dead before the number later rose as rescue operations and investigations continued.Kenya Red Cross Society stated that the incident was officially reported at around 3.30am prompting immediate deployment of emergency response teams to the school.
Following a fire incident reported at around 3:30am at Utumishi Girls Academy in Nakuru County, Kenya Red Cross responded to support the ongoing emergency response,” the organisation stated earlier.
The humanitarian organisation also confirmed that psychosocial support personnel, ambulance teams and first responders had been dispatched to assist affected students, parents and teachers. Police officers together with detectives from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations were deployed to the school immediately after the incident as authorities launched investigations into the cause of the fire.
A head count was also conducted to establish the exact number of students who were inside the dormitory at the time of the tragedy.
Rift Valley Regional Police Commander Masoud Munyi earlier confirmed that access to the school had been restricted to allow rescue operations and investigations to continue smoothly. Large crowds of worried parents gathered outside the school gates as news of the tragedy spread across Gilgil and neighbouring areas with some parents expressing frustration over delays in receiving information about their children.
The injured students were rushed to various hospitals including St. Joseph’s Hospital for treatment and medical assessment.
Authorities had not officially established the cause of the fire by Thursday morning although investigations were ongoing.The tragedy has once again raised concerns over safety standards, emergency preparedness and fire response systems in schools across Kenya following several similar incidents reported in learning institutions in recent years.
Education and security officials are expected to release additional details as investigations, identification of victims and support for affected families continue.
