Residents watching as rescue mission continued to rescue trap pupils in the toilet debris of Queens of Angels Academy in Turbo Uasin Gishu County. Photo: Courtesy.
Queens of Angels Academy in Turbo Uasin Gishu County has been thrown into mourning after three pupils died when a toilet collapsed on Thursday, July 10.
The pupils from Early Childhood Development Education (EDCE) were trapped in the toilet after the floor of the toilet curved in following heavy rains being witnessed in the area since the start of this month.
According eyewitnesses the incident happened around 8am in the morning, when parents, teachers and neighbours rushed to the scene where the screams were coming from.
Uasin Gishu County Commissioner Edison Nyale confirmed the unfortunate incident, which he said occurred when the students were using the facility.
Rescue efforts from the Kenya Redcross Society, National Youth Service (NYS) and the county Fire Department Team arrived at the scene to help in the rescue mission that was underway from the locals. The surviving pupils were rushed to the hospital for check up, as investigations into the cause of the collapse continues.
“What happened is tragic, but further measures will be put in place to ensure the safety of our children in schools,” Uasin Gishu Chairman of the Education Thomas Kipkuragat said.
According to the area Assistant Chief Isaac Bett, said three pupils from pre-school were in different rooms of the pit latrine when the tragedy occurred.
the pit latrine for the Queen of Angels Academy in Turbo sub county collapsed and three pupils who were trapped in the latrine died,” Bett said.
The body of the three girls were taken to Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital after their parents were informed of the early morning incident. Uasin Gishu County governor Jonathan Bii has described the incident as unfortunate and called on investigation into the matter.
He further stated that the he will engage County education Stakeholders to access the state of sanitary facilities in the county following the incident. The unfortunate incident has exposed the dilapidated state of facilities in schools in the country, as heavy rains continue to pound across various parts of the family.
