A devastating fire at Utumishi Girls School in Gilgil, about 120 kilometres west of Nairobi, has killed at least 16 students and left dozens others injured after flames engulfed a dormitory in the early hours of Thursday.
Police and emergency officials said nearly 74 students were being treated in hospital following the incident, which occurred while pupils were asleep inside the boarding facility.
According to authorities and the , the fire broke out around 01:00 local time and spread rapidly through a dormitory housing about 220 students.
Emergency responders were deployed immediately to the school as investigations began into the cause of the blaze.
Police commander Masoud Mwinyi described the incident as deeply distressing, speaking to parents and residents gathered outside the school compound.
“Sad and distressing,” Mwinyi said while addressing anxious families awaiting news of their children.
He said that some students fled into surrounding areas during the confusion and were still being accounted for hours after the fire.
Mwinyi added that security teams were combing nearby locations to locate students who escaped in panic during the night.
The school premises were later cordoned off, with only parents allowed access as rescue operations and investigations continued.
A relative of one of the students, Wambui Nderitu, said families arriving at the scene were met with chaos, fear and uncertainty as news of deaths and injuries spread.
She added that some students were injured after jumping from upper floors of the dormitory while attempting to escape the burning building.
Nderitu said her cousin survived the fire but suffered a broken leg during the escape.
School fires have been a recurring tragedy in Kenya over the years, often linked to suspected arson, overcrowded dormitories and lapses in safety enforcement.
In several past cases, investigations have pointed to student unrest over discipline or living conditions as possible triggers, while others were attributed to accidents.
One of the country’s deadliest school fires occurred in 2001 in Machakos County, where 67 students died after a dormitory was set ablaze.
More recent incidents have also been recorded in 2024, 2022 and 2017, resulting in multiple deaths and extensive destruction across various schools.
In 2021, Kenya’s education ministry told a parliamentary committee that nearly 126 cases of school arson were reported between January and November 2020.
Research cited by Reuters also showed about 60 arson-related incidents in Kenyan schools in 2018.
Police said investigations into the cause of the latest fire remain ongoing as families await further updates on the victims.
