Deaths from Kenya school fire rise to 16
Xinhua
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This photo taken on May 28, 2026 shows the view of Utumishi Girls Academy, where a fire broke out earlier in Gilgil, Nakuru County, Kenya. The death toll from an early-morning fire in northwestern Kenya rose to 16 after six more students succumbed to their injuries, police confirmed on Thursday. The fire broke out at around 1:00 a.m. Thursday local time (2200 GMT Wednesday) while the students were asleep in the dormitory at Utumishi Girls Academy in Gilgil, Nakuru County, initially claiming 10 lives before the toll rose. Meanwhile, more than 70 remain hospitalized with injuries of varying severity. A police report said that most of the injured are currently in stable condition. The cause of the fire is under investigation. (Xinhua/Yang Guang)

GILGIL, Kenya, May 28 (Xinhua) -- The death toll from an early-morning fire in northwestern Kenya rose to 16 after six more students succumbed to their injuries, police confirmed on Thursday.

The fire broke out at around 1:00 a.m. Thursday local time (2200 GMT Wednesday) while the students were asleep in the dormitory at Utumishi Girls Academy in Gilgil, Nakuru County, initially claiming 10 lives before the toll rose.

Meanwhile, more than 70 remain hospitalized with injuries of varying severity. A police report said that most of the injured are currently in stable condition.

The cause of the fire is under investigation.

An aerial drone photo taken on May 28, 2026 shows the view of Utumishi Girls Academy, where a fire broke out earlier in Gilgil, Nakuru County, Kenya. The death toll from an early-morning fire in northwestern Kenya rose to 16 after six more students succumbed to their injuries, police confirmed on Thursday.

The fire broke out at around 1:00 a.m. Thursday local time (2200 GMT Wednesday) while the students were asleep in the dormitory at Utumishi Girls Academy in Gilgil, Nakuru County, initially claiming 10 lives before the toll rose.

Meanwhile, more than 70 remain hospitalized with injuries of varying severity. A police report said that most of the injured are currently in stable condition.

The cause of the fire is under investigation. (Xinhua/Xu Jiatong)

An aerial drone photo taken on May 28, 2026 shows the view of Utumishi Girls Academy, where a fire broke out earlier in Gilgil, Nakuru County, Kenya. The death toll from an early-morning fire in northwestern Kenya rose to 16 after six more students succumbed to their injuries, police confirmed on Thursday.

The fire broke out at around 1:00 a.m. Thursday local time (2200 GMT Wednesday) while the students were asleep in the dormitory at Utumishi Girls Academy in Gilgil, Nakuru County, initially claiming 10 lives before the toll rose.

Meanwhile, more than 70 remain hospitalized with injuries of varying severity. A police report said that most of the injured are currently in stable condition.

The cause of the fire is under investigation. (Xinhua/Xu Jiatong)

An aerial drone photo taken on May 28, 2026 shows the view of Utumishi Girls Academy, where a fire broke out earlier in Gilgil, Nakuru County, Kenya. The death toll from an early-morning fire in northwestern Kenya rose to 16 after six more students succumbed to their injuries, police confirmed on Thursday.

The fire broke out at around 1:00 a.m. Thursday local time (2200 GMT Wednesday) while the students were asleep in the dormitory at Utumishi Girls Academy in Gilgil, Nakuru County, initially claiming 10 lives before the toll rose.

Meanwhile, more than 70 remain hospitalized with injuries of varying severity. A police report said that most of the injured are currently in stable condition.

The cause of the fire is under investigation. (Xinhua/Xu Jiatong)

A relative of a girl who died in a fire that took place at Utumishi Girls Academy cries at the site of the accident in Gilgil, Nakuru County, Kenya, on May 28, 2026. The death toll from an early-morning fire in northwestern Kenya rose to 16 after six more students succumbed to their injuries, police confirmed on Thursday.

The fire broke out at around 1:00 a.m. Thursday local time (2200 GMT Wednesday) while the students were asleep in the dormitory at Utumishi Girls Academy in Gilgil, Nakuru County, initially claiming 10 lives before the toll rose.

Meanwhile, more than 70 remain hospitalized with injuries of varying severity. A police report said that most of the injured are currently in stable condition.

The cause of the fire is under investigation. (Xinhua/Yang Guang)

Rescuers work at Utumishi Girls Academy, where a fire broke out earlier in Gilgil, Nakuru County, Kenya, May 28, 2026. The death toll from an early-morning fire in northwestern Kenya rose to 16 after six more students succumbed to their injuries, police confirmed on Thursday.

The fire broke out at around 1:00 a.m. Thursday local time (2200 GMT Wednesday) while the students were asleep in the dormitory at Utumishi Girls Academy in Gilgil, Nakuru County, initially claiming 10 lives before the toll rose.

Meanwhile, more than 70 remain hospitalized with injuries of varying severity. A police report said that most of the injured are currently in stable condition.

The cause of the fire is under investigation. (Xinhua/Yang Guang)

A relative of a girl who died in a fire that took place at Utumishi Girls Academy cries at the site of the accident in Gilgil, Nakuru County, Kenya, on May 28, 2026. The death toll from an early-morning fire in northwestern Kenya rose to 16 after six more students succumbed to their injuries, police confirmed on Thursday.

The fire broke out at around 1:00 a.m. Thursday local time (2200 GMT Wednesday) while the students were asleep in the dormitory at Utumishi Girls Academy in Gilgil, Nakuru County, initially claiming 10 lives before the toll rose.

Meanwhile, more than 70 remain hospitalized with injuries of varying severity. A police report said that most of the injured are currently in stable condition.

The cause of the fire is under investigation. (Xinhua/Yang Guang)

This photo taken on May 28, 2026 shows the view of Utumishi Girls Academy, where a fire broke out earlier in Gilgil, Nakuru County, Kenya. The death toll from an early-morning fire in northwestern Kenya rose to 16 after six more students succumbed to their injuries, police confirmed on Thursday.

The fire broke out at around 1:00 a.m. Thursday local time (2200 GMT Wednesday) while the students were asleep in the dormitory at Utumishi Girls Academy in Gilgil, Nakuru County, initially claiming 10 lives before the toll rose.

Meanwhile, more than 70 remain hospitalized with injuries of varying severity. A police report said that most of the injured are currently in stable condition.

The cause of the fire is under investigation. (Xinhua/Yang Guang)

This photo taken on May 28, 2026 shows the view of Utumishi Girls Academy, where a fire broke out earlier in Gilgil, Nakuru County, Kenya. The death toll from an early-morning fire in northwestern Kenya rose to 16 after six more students succumbed to their injuries, police confirmed on Thursday.

The fire broke out at around 1:00 a.m. Thursday local time (2200 GMT Wednesday) while the students were asleep in the dormitory at Utumishi Girls Academy in Gilgil, Nakuru County, initially claiming 10 lives before the toll rose.

Meanwhile, more than 70 remain hospitalized with injuries of varying severity. A police report said that most of the injured are currently in stable condition.

The cause of the fire is under investigation. (Xinhua/Yang Guang)