At least 17 children died in a fire that devastated a school dormitory in central Kenyawhich initial reports said Friday may have breached “safety standards” by being overcrowded.
The fire broke out in the Academia Hillside Endarasha from the county of Nyeri around midnight, and spread through a room where more than 150 children were sleeping, the police spokeswoman said, Solved Onyango.
“There are 17 dead in this incident and other people had to be taken to hospital with serious injuries”accurate. “The bodies found at the site are charred to such an extent that they are unrecognizable”he added.
The primary school, which serves about 800 students between five and 12 years, is located about 170 km north of Nairobi the capital of the African country. Police said the average age of the dead was nine years old.
Several people were injured, 16 of them seriously, and were taken to a nearby hospital, he continued. “Other bodies will probably be found”the police spokeswoman estimated.
Nearly 100 parents gathered at the school gates, according to an AFP journalist, waiting for news about their children.
“There is very little information. We are told that some children fled, but we are not told where.“, said Francis has recovered33, whose daughter was at the school.
“The longer I stay here, The more my hope of finding fades away” to my daughter, he told AFP.
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“Traumatized”
The Minister of the Interior, Kithur Kindiki said some children took refuge in neighboring houses.
“There are some children who are alive and well, but of course they are traumatized and are in the hands of those who gave them shelter last night.”he said, adding that authorities were still gathering information.
Elizabeth Nyambura35, said she found her 13-year-old son but was still looking for one of his classmates.
“The only thing he told me was that he saw smoke and that they escaped through the window. I’m glad he’s alive”he declared.
Authorities have opened an investigation, but the cause of the accident is currently unknown.
The national commission on gender and equality Kenya He stated however that initial reports indicated that the residence was “saturated, which violates safety standards.”
The president of Kenya, William Ruto expressed his condolences.
“Our thoughts are with the families of the children who lost their lives in the fire tragedy”he wrote on social network X. “It is devastating news,” he added.
Ruto He said he had instructed that “this horrific incident” be thoroughly investigated and promised that those responsible “will be held accountable.”
The Red Cross Kenyan said she was on the ground to assist an inter-agency response team.
The organization stated in X that it was “providing psychosocial support services to affected students, teachers and families.”
Both Kenya Like other East African countries, they have suffered numerous school fires in recent years.
In 2016, for example, nine students died in a tragedy at a girls’ high school in the neighborhood of Kiberain Nairobi.