Kenya: Fire kills several at a girls' boarding school

A fire at Utumishi Girls' Academy Senior School in the Gilgil area of central Kenya broke out around 1 am and was reported more than two hours later. At least 16 students were killed and 73 were injured. First responders, ambulance crews, and Red Cross support personnel were on the ground, and police confirmed the fire had been contained. County police official Masoud Mwinyi said about 50 officers searched areas around the school for students who may have fled during the blaze. The cause of the fire was not immediately known. School fires are relatively common in Kenya, with electrical faults and arson contributing to past tragedies, sometimes linked to student protests over harsh discipline and poor conditions.

"At least 16 students were killed and 73 injured at a girls' boarding school in central Kenya early Thursday, police officials said. The Kenyan Red Cross said the blaze broke out around 1 am at the Utumishi Girls' Academy Senior School in the Gilgil area, but was only reported only more than two hours later. "First responders, ambulance crew and our support personnel are currently on the ground," a spokesperson for the Red Cross told AFP. The cause of the fire was not immediately known."

"Authorities have confirmed that the fire has been contained. "It is a distressing and saddening situation," county police official Masoud Mwinyi said addressing distraught parents outside the school, according to media reports. Mwinyi told reporters that around 50 officers were searching the areas around the school for students who may have fled when the blaze broke out. Frantic parents gather outside school."

"School fires are relatively common in Kenya where electrical faults and arson have contributed to past tragedies. Experts say many of the fires were started by students protesting harsh discipline and poor conditions. In 2001, 67 students died in a dormitory fire in Machakos County. In 2017, 10 students died in a school fire in the capital Nairobi for which one student was charged with murder."

"In 2018, more than 60 cases of arson in public secondary schools were recorded. In 2024, 21 students burned to death in a school fire in central Kenya. This breaking news story will be updated with more details."

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