Seven students died, and scores more were injured Monday morning after a classroom collapsed at Precious Talent School, Nairobi.
According to witness reports, tragedy struck the Ngong Road-based school at about 7am, when the two-storey building collapsed.
Scores of students were trapped in the rubble.
Kenya Red Cross, St. John;s Ambulance, parents and good Samaritans rushed to the scene to rescue trapped and injured students.
Sixty-four Precious Talent School pupils have so far been taken to Kenyatta National Hospital (KNH) for treatment, even as search and rescue efforts continue.
KNH said two of the pupils suffered serious injuries.
Speaking to K24 Digital, a source at KNH confirmed that some students have been rushed to theatre for surgery. Others have been treated for cuts, scratches and fractures.
The dreaded phone call
School officials say they have made efforts to inform parents of what transpired, even as they partner with rescue workers to clear the rubble.
Visibly shaken, area resident Stephen Odhiambo says he received the dreaded phone call in the morning.
“I was called in the morning, and informed that the building collapsed. I immediately rushed here, but I have not yet laid eyes on my child,” he said, explaining that the pupil’s mother had taken the class 3 child to hospital.
“I was told that the floor fell, and some children died on the spot. Others were injured, and others escaped unharmed. My wife reports that my child suffered some injuries to the head from a desk” Odhiambo told K24.
Parents and loved ones have flocked to the school and to KNH to check on the welfare of the pupils.
Education PS Belio Kipsang was present at scene, and he is expected to issue a statement later in the day.
800 pupils attend Precious Talent School, based in Ngando Area, Dagoretti.
Police have cordoned off the area to manage the burgeoning crowd of onlookers.
The number of casualties is likely to grow, as rescue workers continue to comb through the rubble.
Education PS Belio Kipsang was present at scene, and he is expected to issue a statement later in the day.
Area residents rushed to the scene
