A fire breaks out at the Utumishi Girls’ Academy Senior School in Gilgil, in Kenya’s Rift Valley region, in the early hours of Thursday. Multiple reports say the blaze starts around just after midnight or about 1am and spreads through a dormitory where students are asleep. The government and police report that 16 students die, while 73 to 79 students are injured and taken to hospital, depending on the outlet’s figures. The France 24 report says the fire burns for more than two hours after starting. One outlet reports that the fire may have begun after a student sets a mattress on fire, though this is described as reported rather than confirmed in all coverage. Several sources also report that authorities arrest eight students in connection with a suspected arson attack. Kenya’s officials, including the education minister, provide updates on the incident and the number of casualties.