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Adds new balance, government statement on the number of students found
A fire at a primary school in Kenya has left at least 18 dead, according to a new government report released Saturday, which also indicates that dozens of students are missing, causing anguish among their families.
The fire broke out at Hillside Endarasha Academy in Nyeri County on Thursday around midnight and spread to a dormitory housing more than 150 children.
The primary school, which has about 800 pupils aged between nine and 13, is located about 170 km north of Nairobi, the capital of the African country.
Government spokesman Isaac Mwaura said on Saturday that the death toll had risen to 18. The previous report, released on Friday, had reported 17 children dead.
“It is very sad for the nation to lose so many promising young Kenyans. Our hearts are aching,” Mwaura said. “It is an unimaginable disaster.”
Vice President Rigathi Gachagua said Friday that 70 children were still missing. A government spokesman said about 20 had been found, but gave no further details.
President William Ruto declared three days of mourning from Monday and stressed that those responsible “will be held accountable”.
“I promise that the difficult questions that have been raised, such as how this tragedy occurred and why the response was not swift, will be answered fully, frankly and without fear or favour,” he added in a statement.
The vice president said extensive DNA testing would be needed to help identify the victims.
“The bodies found at the scene are charred beyond recognition,” police spokeswoman Resila Onyango said Friday.
“We want to start the DNA testing process today,” Martin Nyuguto, head of homicide investigations, told AFP.
The tension was palpable among the relatives gathered in front of the school, awaiting news of their children.
Several of them broke down in tears when the police showed them the bodies of the students in the burned-out room.
“Please find my son. He can’t be dead. I want my son back!” a woman screamed as she walked away from the scene.
“We are in a panic,” said Timothy Kinuthia on Friday, desperate to find his 13-year-old son. “We have been here since 5:00 a.m. and we have not been informed of anything,” he lamented.
The bedroom’s frame was razed by the flames and its corrugated iron roof completely collapsed, AFP noted.
The building was sealed off with yellow tape by the police, who cordoned off all access points.
Kenya’s national gender and equality commission said initial reports indicated the residence was “overcrowded, in breach of safety standards.”
In a statement on Saturday, Pope Francis expressed his “spiritual closeness” to the children’s families.
Kenya and other East African countries have suffered numerous school fires in recent years.
In 2016, for example, nine students died in a tragedy at a girls’ high school in the Kibera neighbourhood of Nairobi.
In 2001, 67 students lost their lives in a fire at their dormitory in a secondary school in Machakos district, southern Kenya.
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