Great Fire of a Girls' School Dormitory in Kenya Kills 15 Students

JAKARTA - A fire that hit a dormitory at a girls' school in Gilgil, Nakuru District, Kenya last night killed at least 15 students.

The local police on Thursday, May 28, told Reuters that a number of students whose identities are still unknown were also injured due to a fire in the area of the Utumishi Girls' High School Academy, Nakuru.

Footage aired by Citizen Television station showed the impact of the fire such as broken window glass and walls stained with smoke.

A senior commander at the Gilgil police station, Masoud Mwinyi, said 50 officers were dispatched to comb the area around the school dormitory to search for victims who had fled when the fire occurred.

"Because they were shocked, scared, and anxious, many people came out, and it happened at night," he said.

Kenya has a long history of school fires.

In 2018 alone, according to government data, more than 60 cases of bullying occurred in public secondary schools in Kenya.

Based on the findings of the researchers, many fires in Kenya are caused by students protesting strict disciplinary rules and poor conditions on educational infrastructure.