A fire swept through a dormitory at a boarding school for young boys in central Kenya early Friday morning, resulting in the deaths of 17 students, according to police reports.

Citizen Television noted that the victims were burned beyond recognition, with images from the scene showing collapsed roofing and charred metal storage boxes atop bunk beds.

The blaze occurred at Hillside Endarasha Academy in Nyeri, a primary boarding school. Police spokesperson Resila Onyango confirmed that 14 other students were injured in the incident, stating, “We have lost 17 pupils in the fire incident while 14 are injured.”

Government spokesperson Isaac Mwaura indicated that the boys, aged between 9 and 13 years old, were in grades 4 to 8, and the dormitory housed a total of 156 students. The cause of the fire remains unclear.

President William Ruto has instructed authorities to investigate what he described as a “horrific incident,” assuring that those responsible will face consequences. The Kenya Red Cross reported that the area around the school has been cordoned off. Attempts by Reuters to reach the school through its main contact number were unsuccessful.

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Kenya has experienced a troubling history of school fires, many attributed to arson. Notably, nine students died in a 2017 fire in Nairobi, and in 2001, 58 schoolboys lost their lives in a dormitory blaze at Kyanguli Secondary School. In 2012, another fire in Homa Bay County resulted in the deaths of eight students.