At least 17 pupils have died after a fire ripped through their school dormitory in central Kenya, police said Friday.
"There are 17 fatalities from this incident and there are also others who were taken to hospital with serious injuries," police spokesperson Resila Onyango.
BBC adds; Kenya's Interior Minister Kithure Kindiki has just visited Hillside Endarasha Primary School, and released a statement on social media.
"Kenya woke up to the devastating news of the tragic loss and severe injury on lovely children of Kieni Hillside Academy in Nyeri County as a result of a terrible pre-dawn fire which razed down their dormitory as the pupils slept," he writes on X.
He also reaffirms that government agencies are being deployed to support the affected families.
"The government assures full accountability for all whose action or inaction contributed to this tremendous loss," Kindiki says.
