GILGIL, Kenya (AP) — A fire ripped through a dormitory in a girls' boarding school in central Kenya on Thursday, killing at least 16 students, a government official said, in the latest such incident to afflict the East African nation.

Education Minister Julius Ogamba said Thursday that 79 others were injured at the Utumishi Girls School, which has more than 800 students in the Gilgil area of central Kenya.

Ogamba said authorities would investigate whether the school’s fire safety manual had been adhered to.

Police said they were leading the rescue and emergency response efforts at the school, which is located about 120 kilometers (75 miles) from the capital, Nairobi.

The government-owned secondary school is managed and sponsored by the Kenya Police Service. Many of the students are the daughters of police officers.

The victims have not yet been identified, a source of anger and frustration for some of the parents who gathered at the scene. Dozens were still waiting to confirm their children were not among the victims of the fire.

Elizabeth Rioba, a mother of two girls at the school, said she was relieved to see her daughters but expressed concerned because one of the girls watched her friend getting stuck while trying to jump out of a window.

“She’s very traumatized, but I’m relieved she’s OK and I’m sad for all these children who have died,” she told The Associated Press.

The cause of the fire has not yet been established.

Wambui Nderitu arrived to check on her cousin, who is a student at the school.

“Even though my cousin escaped with a leg injury, we’ve been told many children are injured and some died,” she said.

The Kenya Red Cross said several students were evacuated and are receiving treatment in various hospitals.

The group said it deployed “tracing and psychosocial support teams to support affected students and families.”

“No words can truly ease the pain of losing young lives filled with promise, hope, and dreams for the future,” President William Ruto said in a statement. “As a nation, we mourn with the parents, guardians, teachers, and fellow students who are enduring this unimaginable tragedy.”

Fires at schools have been a cause of concern for education officials in East Africa, where classrooms and dormitories are often crowded, and there’s usually no firefighting equipment in place. Officials sometimes cite poor electrical connections as sparking blazes.

Kenya’s deadliest school fire in recent history occurred in 2001 when 67 students died in a dormitory fire in Machakos County.

In 2024, 21 students burned to death in a school fire in central Kenya. Ruto declared three days of mourning.

In 2017, 10 students died in a school fire in Nairobi. A student was charged with murder.

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