GILGIL, Kenya — A fire erupted at a girls’ boarding school in central Kenya, resulting in an unconfirmed death toll, police said, noting that search teams have been mobilized.
Authorities are working to determine the whereabouts of every student enrolled at Utumishi Girls School in the Gilgil region.
The blaze ignited early Thursday morning in the school’s dormitory area, and investigators have yet to determine its cause.
Incidents of fire in Kenyan boarding schools are regrettably frequent, often stemming from deliberate arson or electrical malfunctions.
Kenya’s most devastating school fire in recent memory took place in 2001, when 67 students perished in a dormitory blaze in Machakos County.
Earlier this year, a tragic fire in central Kenya claimed the lives of 21 students; President William Ruto subsequently announced a three‑day period of national mourning.
In 2017, a school fire in Nairobi’s capital resulted in the deaths of ten students, and a student was later charged with murder.