21 children are now known to have died in Kenya school fire

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — The number of children who were burned to death in a school dormitory in central Kenya has risen to 21, the government spokesperson said Saturday.

Officials began removing the bodies of the children as they tried to account for dozens of boys who were still missing.

Journalists were moved to wait outside the Hillside Endarasha Primary School compound as a team that included the government pathologist and morticians from the Nyeri provincial hospital set up tables outside the dormitory on Saturday.

The Thursday night fire razed down a dormitory that was housing 156 boys aged between 10 and 14. More than 100 boys have been accounted for and the government is urging parents and people living near the privately-owned school to help account for all the boys.

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 what caused the fire.

Mwaura said that some of the children were burnt beyond recognition and agencies would take longer to identify the victims.

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

Kenya’s president, William Ruto, declared three days of mourning on Friday. Police are still investigating the cause of the fire.

Anxious parents who had been waiting all day for news about their children were allowed to see Friday evening what remained of the dormitory. Some parents broke down as they left the scene.

The government has urged school administrators to enforce boarding guidelines that require dormitories to be spacious, with three doors and no grills on the windows for easy escape in case of fires.

School fires are common in Kenyan boarding schools, often caused by arson fueled by drug abuse and overcrowding, according to a recent education ministry report. Many students board because parents believe it gives them more time to study without long commutes.

Some fires have been started by students during protests over the workload or living conditions. In 2017, 10 high school students died in a school fire in Nairobi started by a student.

Kenya’s deadliest school fire in recent history was in 2001, when 67 students died in a dormitory fire in Machakos county.