Fire at girls' boarding school in Kenya kills 16

A fire at a girls' boarding school in Kenya has killed 16 students, the government has said.

The blaze broke out early Thursday morning in the dormitory of the Utumishi Girls' ​Academy Senior School, located ‌in Gilgil, in the county of Nakuru and about 74 miles (120km) from the capital, Nairobi.

Education Minister Julius Migos said that 79 other students had been injured, although 71 of them had already been ​discharged from hospital, reports sky news.

The cause of the fire, which police said has been contained, has not yet been established.

Mr Migos said: "Investigations are ongoing, but the cause of the fire is not yet identified."

Footage aired ​by Citizen Television showed broken window panes ⁠and smoke-stained walls.

"The fire started from an upper dome, and spread ​all over within that time," Eunice Mureithi, whose daughter escaped ​the fire, told the NTV television station, referring to part of ⁠the school's structure.

"It had barricaded a part of the dome to one side, and to the other side the students were unable to come out, but ⁠a lot of them were able to escape."