- The cause of the fire at the school is yet to be known.
- The school had 824 pupils. However, the individual dorm that caught fire had 152 pupils.
Image: Wangare Mwangi/ KNA
What happened
At least 17 pupils died after a dormitory caught fire at Hillside Endarasha Academy in Kieni, Nyeri.
14 other students sustained injuries.
The cause of the fire at the school is yet to be known.
The school had 824 pupils. However, the individual dorm that caught fire had 156 pupils.
The affected dormitory housed Grades 4 to 8 boys.
Ongoing Interventions
Government Spokesperson Isaac Mwaura has released an interim statement.
Mwaura said dry foods - 50 bags of rice and 50 bags of beans were en route to the site via Special Programs.
According to Mwaura, 100 mattresses and 100 blankets were also being dispatched, with an estimated arrival time of 2 pm.
Medical supplies
The Ministry of Health and the County Government Health Department are on-site assessing medical needs.
The Pankaj Foundation has donated 50 first aid kits, which will be sent to the site today via ODP.
MP Shah Hospital is also sending medical consumables.
Counselling services and immediate needs
Kenya Red Cross is providing critical counselling services to victims and families.
Additional tents, blankets, and medical supplies are being coordinated by Red Cross and Special Programs.
Tracing desks
Tracing desks have also been established at the school.
Kenya Red Cross Mt Kenya head Esther Chege said the desk will help parents identify their children.
"In the tracing desk will be able to get all their details including those in the hospital so that we can advise on how to access them," she said.
"We will also offer continuous counselling services starting today. The services will be offered to the learners, parents and the community."
President Ruto orders a thorough probe into the fire incident
President William Ruto has vowed action against those responsible for the tragic fire incident.
Ruto directed the security agencies to "thoroughly" and expeditiously conduct a probe into the "horrific" incident.
"Those responsible will be held to account!" he said.
"The government under the Ministry of Interior and Coordination of the National Government is mobilising all the necessary resources to support the affected families."
Probe team
Deputy Director of DCI John Onyango is leading a team of investigators at the school.
Onyango drove to the scene Friday in the company of the head of the homicide unit Martin Nyuguto and other experts from the disaster unit to unravel the truth behind the fire.
They want to know who was in the dormitory when the fire broke out.
Director DCI Mohamed Amin said he had dispatched Onyango and a team from the homicide and forensic department to join the probe team.
The team is supposed to comb through the debris at the scene as part of efforts to establish the cause of the fire.
The team cordoned off the affected dormitory and invited officials from Kenya Power to join them in efforts to establish the saga.
Other teams from Nyeri also supplemented the team in the probe.
Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua to visit the school
Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua is expected to visit Hillside Endarasha Academy.
Gachagua is expected at the school, to visit and comfort pupils and parents following the fire tragedy.
Gachagua mourned the 17 pupils who perished in the fire and wished quick recovery to the injured pupils.
He called on schools to enforce safety and security measures as outlined by the Ministry of Education and other agencies to avert such incidences.
"I have learned with deep sadness the tragic death of pupils of Hillside Endarasha Academy in a fire incident in Kieni Constituency, Nyeri County. We join the families, the school, and the rest of the country in mourning these young departed souls," Gachagua said.
"We pray for a quick recovery of the survivors of this inferno. May God grant the families the fortitude to bear the loss," the DP said.