LONDON — At the least 16 college students died in an in a single day fireplace at a boarding college for women in central Kenya, a authorities minister stated Thursday.
Training Minister Julius Ogamba stated in a press release posted to X {that a} “regrettable fireplace tragedy befell Utumishi Ladies Academy in Nakuru County. Most sadly, 16 learners misplaced their lives whereas a number of others suffered accidents within the incident.”
The Kenya Police Service stated in a press release posted to Fb that “a number of different college students had been injured and are receiving therapy.”
The blaze broke out in a dormitory on the Utumishi Ladies Senior Faculty within the city of Gilgil in Kenya’s Nakuru County, police stated, round 74 miles from the capital Nairobi.
Dad and mom and guardians stand at Utumishi Ladies Academy following the lethal fireplace in Nakuru, north of the Kenyan capital Nairobi on Might 28, 2026.
Simon Maina/AFP by way of Getty Photographs
Search and rescue operations are ongoing, police stated. “We’re working to account for all college students and assist affected households throughout this tough time,” the service stated in its assertion.
The fireplace was reported early Thursday at round 3:30 a.m. native time, based on the Kenya Crimson Cross, which stated its crew had been supporting the continued multi-agency response. “A number of college students have been evacuated and are receiving therapy in varied hospitals,” Kenya Crimson Cross stated.
Ogamba expressed “our heartfelt condolences to the households, associates and kin of the learners who misplaced their lives on this sorrowful incident. We want a fast restoration to those that had been injured. We pray that God grants everybody energy and fortitude throughout this tough and painful interval.”
“Investigations into the reason for the hearth are ongoing and updates can be supplied in the end,” the minister added.
ABC Information’ Charlotte Gardiner contributed to this report.
