A dormitory fire in Kenya kills 18 students and injures 27. Dozens are unaccounted for

NAIROBI —  A fire in a school dormitory in Kenya has killed 18 students and 27 others have been hospitalized, with some 70 children unaccounted for, the country’s deputy president said Friday.

President William Ruto declared three days of mourning. Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua said only 86 out of more than 150 children had been accounted for.

The cause of the fire Thursday night at Hillside Endarasha Primary school in Nyeri County was under investigation, police spokesperson Resila Onyango said.

The Education Ministry reported that the dormitory that caught fire housed more than 150 boys between 10 and 14. The fire spread quickly through the wooden-plank building.

The day and boarding private school, which has 824 students, is 125 miles north of the capital, Nairobi, in the country’s central highlands.

Nyeri County Gov. Mutahi Kahiga told journalists that rescue efforts were hampered by muddy roads caused by rains in the area.

Parents who had been unable to find their children among the survivors waited at the school, overcome after they were allowed to view the scene of the fire.

The Education Ministry’s permanent secretary, Belio Kipsang, said the government was working with the school administration to account for all the children in the boarding section.

Ruto called the news “devastating.”

“I instruct relevant authorities to thoroughly investigate this horrific incident. Those responsible will be held to account,” he said in an X post.

Gachagua urged school administrators to ensure that safety guidelines recommended by the Education Ministry for boarding schools are being followed.

School fires are common in Kenyan boarding schools, often caused by arson fueled by drug abuse and overcrowding, according to a recent Education Ministry report. Many students board because parents believe it gives them more time to study without long commutes.

Some fires have been started by students during protests over the workload or living conditions. In 2017, 10 high school students died in a school fire in Nairobi started by a student.

Kenya’s deadliest school fire in recent history was in 2001 when 67 students died in a dormitory fire in Machakos County.

The Education Ministry’s guidelines recommend that dormitories should be spacious enough and have two doors on each end, an emergency door in the middle, and that windows aren’t fitted with grilles in order to allow for escape in case of fire. Fully serviced fire extinguishers and fire alarms are required at easily accessible spots.

It wasn’t immediately clear whether these guidelines were followed at Hillside Endarasha school. The area near the dormitory has remained cordoned off.

Musambi writes for the Associated Press.