Kenyan officials remove bodies as they try to confirm the death toll from a school dormitory fire

Tragic school fire in Kenya leaves 18 dead, 27 hospitalized, and 70 missing, sparking national mourning and investigations.

Officials began removing the bodies of children who burned to death in a school dormitory in central Kenya on Saturday (September 7, 2024) as they tried to account for dozens of boys who are still missing.

Journalists were moved to wait outside the school compound as a team that included morticians from the Nyeri provincial hospital set up tables outside the dormitory on Saturday (Septmber 7).

Eighteen boys aged between 10 and 14 are known to have died and 27 were hospitalized after the Thursday (September 5, 2024) night fire at Hillside Endarasha Primary School, but 70 others are still unaccounted for.

Government spokesperson Isaac Mwaura called for patience from members of the public as government agencies comb through the scene to ascertain the numbers of those who died and cause of fire.

Also Read: Seven Kenyan schoolgirls die in dormitory blaze: government

Mr. Mwaura said that more than 20 children had been accounted for by Saturday (September 7) afternoon but did not clarify if this number was an update from the previous number of accounted for students that stood at 86 by Friday (September 6) night. He added that the number of children who died still stands at 18 and that the process will take longer.

“These figures are still preliminary because the process is ongoing. …It’s a DNA process that will take a number of days,” he said.