Tragedy Strike in Kenya: 17 Students Killed, 13 Seriously Burned in Boarding School Fire

The devastating news emerged on Friday, as 17 school students lost their lives due to a tragic fire breakout in a boarding school in Kenya. At least 13 others sustained serious burn injuries, prompting concerns for a potential increase in casualties. The heart-wrenching incident has sent shivers down the spines of parents and the communities, with widespread grief pervading the school.

At Hillside Endarasha Primary in Nyeri county, where the victims were studying, authorities had reported that more than 150 boys resided in the dormitory that caved in. As luck would have it, local authorities, as well as the education ministry, concluded that the speed at which the fire spread was amplified by the predominant use of wood planks in structural construction.

"It is really devastating," declared President William Ruto on social media platform X, whereupon he instructed law enforcement units to conduct an in-depth investigation into the horrific catastrophe. "Those responsible," he emphasized, "shall be held accountable."

Joining the president’s statements, Deputy Rigathi Gachagua advised school personnel to ensure the adherence of safety guidelines devised by their ministry for boarding schools throughout the country.

To date, experts have deduced that most Kenyan boarding school fires, approximately 70 percent, manifest due to drug abuse amid overcrowding and a resultant lack of social responsibility (according to recent data reports). In cases of insubordination to authorities against the backdrop of heavy task loads or disapproproval of residence conditions the fires have occurred, while in 2017 about 10 senior students students died in the same course of a boarding school event in Nairobi initiated by them.