At least 16 students were killed and dozens more injured when a fire swept through a dormitory at Utumishi Girls School in the Kenyan town of Gilgil, authorities said. The blaze broke out in the middle of the night, trapping many of the students as they slept in the crowded boarding facility.

Officials reported that at least 79 students were taken to hospitals with burns, smoke inhalation and other injuries. Some remain in critical condition. Rescue workers and school staff described chaotic scenes as students struggled to escape through smoke-filled corridors, with some leaping from windows to save their lives.

The dormitory housed more than 200 students. Survivors said they were jolted awake by screams and the smell of smoke, only to find flames spreading rapidly and visibility reduced to almost nothing. Emergency exits and access to windows are now a central focus of the investigation.

The cause of the fire has not yet been established. Police and fire investigators are examining whether electrical faults, arson or negligence may have been involved, and whether the school complied with safety regulations, including the number of exits, the presence of fire extinguishers and the condition of electrical wiring.

Utumishi Girls School is a government-owned secondary school managed and sponsored by the Kenya Police Service. Many of the students are daughters of police officers, deepening the sense of loss within the country’s security services. Senior police officials and education authorities visited the campus as grief-stricken parents gathered outside, seeking news of their children.

School fires are a recurring tragedy in Kenya’s education system. Overcrowded dormitories, barred or locked windows, blocked exits and poor electrical installations have repeatedly been cited by investigators and safety advocates as factors that turn small fires into mass-casualty events.

Kenya’s deadliest school fire in recent history occurred in 2001, when 67 students died in a dormitory blaze in Machakos County. In another incident, 21 students were killed in a central Kenya school fire, prompting national mourning and renewed promises of reform. In Nairobi, 10 students died in a 2017 dormitory fire, after which a student was charged with murder.

The Gilgil tragedy has once again raised urgent questions about enforcement of safety standards in boarding schools and whether long-standing recommendations to protect students have been fully implemented.