Nairobi, Kenya — A fire at a school dormitory in central Kenya killed 17 students and left 13 others seriously injured, police said Friday.
Police said the death toll is expected to rise. No information has been given yet about the age of the students.
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Police spokesperson Rasila Onyango said the cause of the fire at Hillside Andarasha Primary in Nyeri County was being investigated. “We are investigating the cause and will take the necessary action,” she said.
Agence France-Presse quoted him as saying that “the bodies recovered at the scene were burned to such an extent that they were beyond identification.”
The fire broke out around midnight and engulfed the dormitory while students were asleep, AFP quoted police as saying.
Fires are common at residential schools in Kenya, where many students live because their parents believe it gives them more time to study without long commutes.
Some fires have been set by students during protests over workload or living conditions. In 2017, a fire at a school in the capital, Nairobi, killed 10 high school students.