8 Schoolgirls burnt to death

23 August 2012 - 16:01
By Sapa-AFP

Eight young schoolgirls were burnt to death in a dormitory fire at a boarding school in western Kenya, police said.

"We lost eight children. We are investigating what caused the fire," local police chief Kennedy Wabuoba said, adding that the girls were asleep when the blaze broke out late Wednesday in Homa Bay, some 260 kilometres (160 miles) west of the capital Nairobi.

Kenya Red Cross official John Roche said they helped remove the charred bodies from the burnt down building and took them to a nearby mortuary.

Prime Minister Raila Odinga has demanded "a comprehensive report" on the deaths.