NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Officials began removing the bodies of children burned alive in a school building in central Kenya on Sunday, as they tried to determine where dozens more boys are missing.
Journalists had to wait outside the school grounds as a team of undertakers from Nyeri Provincial Hospital set up tables outside the dormitory on Saturday.
Eighteen boys aged 10 to 14 have died and 27 have been hospitalised following the fire at Hillside Endarasha Primary School on Thursday night, with 70 others still missing.
The country’s president, William Ruto, has declared three days of mourning. Police are still investigating the cause of the fire.
Anxious parents who had waited all day for news of their children were allowed to view the remains of the dormitory on Friday night. Some parents broke down as they left the scene.
The government has called on school boards to enforce guidelines for boarding schools, which require dormitories to be spacious, have three doors and no bars on windows, so that students can easily escape in the event of a fire.
School fires are common in Kenyan boarding schools, often caused by arson fueled by drug abuse and overcrowding, according to a recent report by the Ministry of Education. Many students attend boarding schools because their parents believe they will have more time to study without having to travel long distances.
Some fires have been started by students during protests over workloads or living conditions. In 2017, 10 high school students died in a school fire in Nairobi that was started by a student.
The deadliest school fire in Kenya’s recent history occurred in 2001, when 67 students died in a dormitory fire in the Machakos area.
