Grief and shock after Kenya school fire killed several
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00:00Grief and shock loom amongst the parents and relatives of the N'Darasha school children
00:06as they wait anxiously to hear about the fates of their loved ones.
00:10According to the Kenyan police, a fire broke out around midnight on Thursday in one of
00:15the school dorms which housed 156 boys between the ages of 9 and 14.
00:22As search and rescue continue their operations, dozens of children are still unaccounted for.
00:29We saw several children in there that had been burnt.
00:32I was just lucky to save one of them, but I heard later he died.
00:37It was a very troubling and sad tragedy.
00:42I found mine but we are still waiting for my neighbours and friends' children.
00:46We're hopeful we'll find them.
00:50Located in a semi-rural area some 150 kilometres north of the capital Nairobi, the N'Darasha
00:57school was attended by over 800 pupils.
01:01Some of the survivors were still being rescued during the day on Friday and the Kenyan Secretary
01:06for the Interior called on any who gave refuge to the children to bring them back to the
01:12authorities.
01:17Many children managed to jump out and get to safety, but we don't know how many were
01:21successful.
01:23The information we have is that there are others within the community.
01:28The government is urging anyone who took in any of these children to bring them here in
01:33the hands of government officers so that they can get medical help and counselling.
01:40Police have launched an investigation into the origins of the fire.
01:44However, the Kenyan Gender and Equality Commission claims that the dormitory was overcrowded
01:49and in violation of safety regulations.