Fire at Kenyan girls’ school kills 16

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A overnight fire in the dormitories of a girls’ boarding school killed at least 16 students and injured 79 others

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Associated PressPublished: 5:26pm, 28 May 2026Updated: 6:09pm, 28 May 2026At least 16 students died in an overnight fire that started in the dormitories of a girls’ boarding school in Kenya, a government official said, in the latest such incident to rock the East African nation.

Education Minister Julius Ogamba said on Thursday that 79 others were injured at the Utumishi Girls School, which has more than 800 students in the Gilgil area of central Kenya.

The cause has not yet been established. Ogamba said authorities would investigate whether the school’s fire safety manual had been adhered to.

Police said they were leading the rescue and emergency response efforts at the school, which is located about 120km (75 miles) from the capital, Nairobi.

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The government-owned secondary school is managed and sponsored by the Kenya Police Service. Many of the students are daughters of police officers.

The victims have not yet been identified.

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One person at the scene, Wambui Nderitu, arrived to check on her cousin, who is a student at the school. She said she heard that the matron opened one of two dormitory doors “without alerting the children to exit”.

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