Fire at Kenya girls' boarding school kills at least 15

At least 15 students were killed when a fire swept through a girls' boarding school dormitory in central Kenya early Thursday morning. The blaze erupted around 1 a.m. local time at Utumishi Girls Academy in Gilgil, Nakuru County, while students were asleep.

Police official Masoud Mwinyi described the scene as a distressing and saddening situation while addressing distraught parents outside the school. At least 74 students were injured and admitted to various medical facilities, including St. Joseph’s Hospital in Gilgil, with injuries ranging from minor to severe. The Kenya Red Cross reported responding to the incident at approximately 3:30 a.m., dispatching teams to support rescue efforts and provide psychosocial support.

The fire was contained by firefighters and police officers who evacuated other students from the burning Meline Waithera Block dormitory, which housed 220 pupils, most of them Grade 10 students between 15 and 17 years old. Rift Valley Regional Police Commander Samuel Ndanyi stated that teams had not yet accounted for at least 10 students, prompting an extensive search operation. Mwinyi said nearly fifty officers were combing the surrounding areas for students...