NAIROBI, Kenya- At least 16 students have now been confirmed dead following a devastating dormitory fire at Utumishi Girls Academy in Gilgil, Nakuru County, as police revealed that dozens of other learners were rushed to hospital with injuries after the early morning tragedy.
According to a police incident report filed at Gilgil Police Station, the fire broke out at around 4.30am on Thursday in a dormitory known as the Meline Waithera Block, which housed about 220 students from Grade 10, Form Three and Form Four.
The report indicates that the school principal, Joycelene Muraguri, alerted authorities after the inferno erupted, prompting an emergency response led by officers from Gilgil Police Station and the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI).
Police said joint rescue efforts involving fire brigades from Naivasha, the Kenya Defence Forces (KDF), the Administration Police Service Training Unit (ASTU), the Kenya Forest Service (KFS), and the National Youth Service (NYS) managed to contain the flames after intense firefighting operations.
“The number of fatalities is estimated to be about 16,” the police report stated, adding that 74 students had been admitted to various hospitals with injuries of varying severity.
The injured students were rushed to Gilgil Sub-County Hospital and St. Mark’s Hospital, where they are receiving treatment. Authorities said many of the victims were in stable condition.
The fire extensively damaged property of unknown value, with the affected dormitory almost completely destroyed.
Crime Scene Investigation (CSI) officers from Nakuru processed and documented the scene as investigators began efforts to establish the cause of the fire, which remains unknown.
The tragedy has once again raised concerns over safety standards in Kenyan boarding schools, coming less than two years after the deadly Hillside Endarasha Academy dormitory fire in Nyeri that killed 21 pupils.
Earlier reports had indicated that at least 10 students had died, but the death toll later rose as rescue and recovery operations continued.
