Sixteen students have been killed and 74 have been injured after a fire broke out in a dormitory at a boarding school in Kenya, East Africa.

On Thursday, May 28 at around 3:30 a.m. local time, the Kenya Red Cross assisted emergency services following reports of a blaze at Utumishi Girls Academy in Nakuru County, the organization confirmed in a Facebook post.

The boarding school is located around 77 miles west of the Kenyan capital of Nairobi, per the BBC.

While speaking to reporters at the scene, a policeman confirmed the current death count and said that 74 other students were being treated in the hospital, according to the outlet.

The fire started at the school while the students were still asleep, the BBC reported, citing Kenya Red Cross and police. The blaze is believed to have broken out at around 1 a.m. local time, officers added to the outlet.

Kenya Red Cross added in a statement shared on Facebook, “Our first responders, E-Plus ambulance crew and our psychosocial support personnel are currently on the ground supporting affected students alongside other responders and relevant authorities.”

When police arrived at the school in the early hours of Thursday morning, they found the dormitory block already engulfed in flames, according to local news outlet Citizen Digital.

The dormitory that caught fire housed 220 students, the outlet added, citing police. The cause of the fire is not yet known.

“It is a sad and distressing situation,” police commander Masoud Mwinyi said while speaking to those outside the school, which included some of the parents, per the BBC.

Mwinyi added that authorities were still looking for some students, who are believed to have fled into nearby areas amid the blaze.

“As we speak, our officers are combing the area because some students fled in shock and fear during the night,” he said, according to the outlet.

Access to the school has been restricted, with police only allowing parents into the compound amid the ongoing investigation, per Kenyan news outlet The Star.

“When we arrived at the school we were told to queue,” Wambui Nderitu, whose cousin attends the school, said of family members arriving at the scene.

“Most of us were so worried because we had heard some students had died and others were injured and in the hospital,” he added, per the BBC.

Nderitu said that some students had been injured while jumping from the school’s upper floor of the dormitory while attempting to get out.

“Some of those at the top floor had to jump out, that’s why they are injured,” Nderitu told the BBC.

She added of her cousin, “I found her… she is fine… but she has a broken leg.”

Kenya National Police Service, Utumishi Girls School and Kenya Red Cross didn’t immediately respond when contacted by PEOPLE for additional information.

The fatal blaze is the latest in a long history of school fires in Kenya, according to the BBC. In 2001, in what has been described by the outlet as the deadliest incident, 67 students in Machakos County died after some students set fire to a dormitory.

At least 21 people died in a dormitory fire in central Kenya in 2024, among other similar incidents in recent years, the outlet stated. Some of the fires have been the result of arson, while others were caused by accident.

Following Thursday’s fire, the Ministry of Gender, Culture and Children Services said in a statement released by State Department for Children Services Kenya that it “expresses profound sorrow following the tragic fire incident … which has regrettably resulted in loss of lives and injuries among learners.”

“We extend our heartfelt condolences to the families, guardians, school community, and all those affected by this unfortunate tragedy. We also wish a quick recovery to all injured learners currently receiving medical attention,” the statement included.

Kenya’s President, William Ruto, added, “Our hearts and prayers are with the families who have lost their beloved daughters in the tragic fire at Utumishi Girls Academy in Gilgil,” according to The Star.

Source: People