21 boys die in fire at school in Kenya

A total of 21 boys died in a fire at a school hostel in central Kenya on Saturday (September 7), a tragedy that has raised questions about safety standards at educational institutions across the country.

After dark, another fire broke out in a girls' school, also in the center of the country. There are conflicting reports about the number of injured.

Earlier on Saturday, the country's top prosecutor said he had ordered police to investigate whether the deadly inferno at Hillside Endarasha Academy in Nyeri County was caused by negligence or recklessness.

The flames engulfed the school's boys' dormitory, where more than 150 students aged between nine and 13 were sleeping, around midnight on Thursday.

Government spokesman Isaac Mwaura said a total of 19 bodies had been recovered from the scene of the accident and two others had died in hospital.

Of the 156 boys who were in the dormitory at the time, 139 are now either at home or in hospital, he added.

“It is a catastrophe beyond our imagination,” Mwaura said at a press conference.

The charred bodies of the victims, which police said were burned beyond recognition, were found in the dormitory, which is now nothing more than a blackened shell with its corrugated iron roof having completely collapsed.

Homicide squads and forensic experts intensified their investigations at the school on Saturday. DNA tests will be carried out to identify the victims.