- More than 18 hours after a devastating fire broke out at the school, parents are clinging to hope that their children may still be found alive.
- A few pieces of mattresses and blankets salvaged remain abandoned on the classroom verandas.
Image: FELIX KIPKEMOI
For more than 18 hours, John Kariuki has been camping at Hillside Endarasha Academy in Nyeri.
At the school, a few pieces of mattresses and blankets salvaged remain abandoned on the classroom verandas.
Tears freely roll down his cheeks as Kariuki explains his desperation with each ticking second.
All he wants is to know whether his grandson, a Grade 7 pupil at the school, is alive or among the 17 lives cut short during the night dormitory fire.
No information has been received yet, but he clings on to hope.
Forensic teams could be seen combing through the debris in the ill-fated dormitory.
"Tumekuwa hapa kuanzia saa tano jana usiku na hatuambiwi chochote, hatujui watoto wetu wako wapi," he says.
(We have been here since 11 pm yesterday and we haven't been told anything, we don't know where our children are).
The pupil, according to Kariuki, is an orphan he has been taking care of since he joined the baby class at the school after his parents died.
Simon Mwangi too traveled from Nairobi some 200 kilometres to the school early in the morning.
"I am only hopeful that I will find my son alive. I have prayed to God and I know he will answer it," Mwangi says.
Kariuki and Mwangi are among hundreds of other parents who have been camping at the school since the news of the fire broke out.
More than 18 hours after a devastating fire broke out at the school, parents are clinging to hope that their children may still be found alive.
They are anxiously waiting for any news, holding onto hope despite the dire situation.
The fire which started around 10 pm, has turned the school into a "national crime scene" as detectives race against time to unravel the mystery surrounding the cause and circumstances of the incident.
Parents who have camped at the school here since last night could not help as they described their anguish and desperation.
The fire, according to acting Nyeri regional commissioner Pius Murugu claimed 17 lives.
He could not, however, provide information on the whereabouts of the other pupils who are still unaccounted for.
Some 14 others, he said, are receiving treatment at various hospitals in the county.
Murugu who addressed the distraught parents called for patience as he promised to provide timely updates.
"We understand the situation but we are asking you to bear with us. The situation inside that area is not pleasant at all," he said.
He further stated that the 17 were burnt beyond recognition adding, "we are waiting for the government pathologist to come and help us in identification".
Parents of those who lost their children have been placed in one of the rooms where they are receiving psychological guidance from various teams.
Teachers who gathered in a group also appeared to be dumbstrucked as they try to come to terms with the situation that has robbed them some of their class members.
In separate interviews, some of the parents told us that they arrived at the school immediately after the fire started but were locked outside by security officers.
This, was as fire marshals from the county struggled to put out the fire.
While no information has been provided on the real causes, there were speculations that it was as a result of an electric fault.
Unconfirmed reports also indicate that the dormitory which caught fire had been closed from outside making it difficult for the pupils to escape.
"Those who managed to escape after the fire were half-naked," one of those who were the first to respond said.