At least 16 students dead after blaze sweeps through Kenya school dormitory

At least 16 students were killed after a fire tore through a girls’ school dormitory in Kenya, authorities said, while several others sustained injuries and were taken to hospitals for treatment.

A relative of one of the students, Wambui Nderitu, said she rushed to the scene to look for her cousin after hearing about the blaze. According to her, one of the dormitory’s two doors was opened by the matron, but students were allegedly not alerted to evacuate immediately.

“The other door reportedly remained locked. My cousin managed to escape with a leg injury, but we were told many students were hurt and some lost their lives,” she said.

The Kenya Red Cross said several students were rescued and transferred to different hospitals for medical care. The organisation also deployed tracing and psychosocial support teams to assist affected students and their families.

Kenya has witnessed several deadly school fires over the years. In 2001, 67 students were killed in a dormitory fire in Machakos County, marking one of the country’s worst school fire tragedies.

More recently, 21 students died in a school fire in central Kenya in 2024, prompting President William Ruto to declare three days of national mourning.

In another incident in 2017, 10 students were killed in a school fire in Nairobi, after which a student was charged with murder.