Hillside Endarasha Academy dormitory on the side of the mountain that caught fire had 152 students. Hillside Endarasha Academy in Nyeri County, where 17 students died in a fire, had 824 students..
According to Nyeri County Commissioner Pius Murugu, the single dormitory that caught fire housed 152 students.
Murugu said the dormitory caught fire around 3 am and the wooden structures saw the fire spread quickly despite the quick response of the county government disaster management teams. “Most of the structures in this school are made of wood, which made the fire worse,” he said. The district commissioner who led a multi-agency team that reached the school said the dead students could not be saved.
Additionally, DCI homicide director Martin Nyuguto is leading a team of investigators to determine the cause of the fire.
Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua and the principal secretary of education are also expected to arrive at the school.
Murugu said the Kenya Red Cross Society has started contact tracing as panicked parents continue to reach Hillside Endarasha Academy in Nyeri to ascertain the status of the children.
Parents are braving the cold weather in the school which is about 12 kilometers from the Nyeri Nyahururu highway to establish the status of their children while others are already reunited with theirs.
A sober atmosphere reigns in the facility, with parents who reported that their children were among the dead wailing in pain, while others wait anxiously.
About 14 students were taken to health facilities, with one of them referred to the Kenyatta National Hospital, Othaya Annex, for specialist treatment.
