Police say 17 students were killed and 13 others were seriously burned after a school dormitory was engulfed by flames in Kenya on Thursday.
The cause of the fire at Hillside Endarasha Primary in Nairobi is being investigated. According to reports, the school functions for children up to the age of 14.
The dormitory that caught fire housed more than 150 boys between the ages of 10 and 14, according to Nyeri County Commissioner Pius Murugu and the education ministry.
The school, about 125 miles north of the Capital, Nairobi, was reported to have 824 students in total.
Nyeri County Governor Mutahi Kahiga reported that rescue efforts were difficult due to the muddy road conditions caused by recent rain in the area.
"I instruct relevant authorities to thoroughly investigate this horrific incident. Those responsible will be held to account," President William Ruto said on X (formerly known as Twitter).
According to reports from the education ministry, school fires are common in Kenyan boarding schools due to arson fueled by drug abuse and overcrowding.
The deadliest school fire was in 2001 when 67 students died in a dormitory fire in Machakos County, per reports.
"The Government under the Ministry of Interior and Coordination of the National Government is mobilising all the necessary resources to support the affected families," Ruto said.
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