(Endarasha) A fire in a dormitory of a primary school in Kenya has killed 18 people, according to a new government report on Saturday, and dozens of students are still missing, plunging families into anguish.
The fire at Hillside Endarasha Academy in Nyeri County broke out around midnight on Thursday in a dormitory where more than 150 boys were sleeping. The school, which has about 800 students aged nine to 12 or 13, is located in a semi-rural area about 170 km north of the capital Nairobi.
The death toll has risen to 18, government spokesman Isaac Mwaura said at a press briefing on the scene on Saturday. An earlier report by President William Ruto on Friday put the death toll at 17 boys.
“It is terribly upsetting for the nation to lose so many promising young Kenyans. Our hearts are heavy,” Mr. Mwaura said. “It is a catastrophe beyond imagination.”
Vice President Rigathi Gachagua said Friday that 70 children were still missing after the disaster. A government spokesman said about 20 of them had been found, but he declined to provide further details.
Investigators were busy on Saturday at the scene of the fire, closed to the press, looking for clues to determine the circumstances of the tragedy.
The charred bodies of the victims were still in the dormitory. The roof structure was ravaged by the flames and its corrugated iron roof had completely collapsed, AFP reported.
“We want to start the DNA testing process today,” homicide investigation chief Martin Nyuguto told AFP at the scene.
President Ruto declared three days of national mourning starting Monday in what he called an “unimaginable tragedy”.
Mr Ruto also assured that Kenya would have to clarify the causes of the tragedy and bring those responsible to justice.
According to the Kenyan Commission on Gender and Equality, which is calling for a full investigation into the incident, initial reports indicate that the dormitory was “overcrowded, in violation of safety regulations”.
“Find my child”
“The bodies found at the scene were burnt beyond recognition,” police spokeswoman Resila Onyango said.
Muchai Kihara, 56, ran to school around 1 a.m. Friday and found his 12-year-old son, Stephen Gachingi, alive.
“I can’t imagine what he must have been through. I’m glad he’s alive, but he’s injured in the back of his head and the smoke has irritated his eyes,” he said.
“Now I just want him to be counselled to see if his life will return to normal,” he added, sitting with his son on a bench behind a Red Cross tent where families receive help and advice.
On Friday, tension was palpable among families gathered outside the school waiting for news of their children.
Several relatives broke down crying and screaming after being led by police to the bodies of schoolchildren in the burned-out dormitory.
“Please find my child. It can’t be that he’s dead… I want my child!” one woman shouted as she left the scene.
“We are in panic mode,” said Timothy Kinuthia, who is desperately searching for his 13-year-old son.
Pope Francis expressed in a statement on Saturday his “spiritual closeness” to the bereaved families, the injured and those affected by the tragedy.
There have been many school fires in Kenya in the past.
In 2016, nine students were killed in a fire at a girls’ high school in Kibera, Nairobi’s largest slum.
In 2001, 67 students were killed in an arson attack on their dormitory at a secondary school in Machakos district, southern Kenya.