A fire broke out overnight in a dormitory at Utumishi Girls School in Gilgil, Nakuru County, central Kenya. Education Minister Julius Ogamba reported 16 students killed and 79 injured. Police led rescue and emergency response efforts in the town about 120 km northwest of Nairobi. Footage showed broken window panes and smoke-stained walls. A senior police commander said 50 officers searched areas around the school for students who may have fled during the incident. Kenya has experienced repeated school fires, including cases linked to arson and student protests over harsh discipline and poor conditions. Previous incidents include a 2024 fire that killed 21 students in Nyeri County and a 2017 Nairobi fire that killed 10 students, with a student later charged with murder.
"Education Minister Julius Ogamba said on Thursday that 79 were injured after the fire broke out overnight at the Utumishi Girls School in Gilgil, Nakuru County. At least 16 students have been killed when a fire ripped through a dormitory at a girls school in a town in central Kenya, police and a government official say. The cause of the fire was not immediately known."
"Police said they were leading rescue and emergency response efforts in the town, located about 120km (74 miles) northwest of the capital, Nairobi. Footage aired by Citizen Television showed broken window panes and smoke-stained walls. Masoud Mwinyi, a senior police commander, told reporters at the school that 50 officers were combing areas around the facility for students who may have fled when the fire broke out."
"Kenya has a long history of school fires. More than 60 cases of arson in public secondary schools were recorded in 2018 alone, according to government data. Many of the fires have been set by students protesting against harsh discipline and poor conditions, researchers have found. In 2024, a fire killed 21 students at a primary boarding school in nearby Nyeri County. The cause of that fire has not been conclusively established."
"In 2017, 10 students died in a school fire in Nairobi. A student was charged with murder."
Read at www.aljazeera.com
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