A fire erupted in a school dormitory in central Kenya, killing 17 students and injuring some 14 others, police said Friday.

The fire ripped through the Hillside Endarasha Academy in Nyeri at around midnight.

Police spokeswoman Resila Onyango said authorities were investigating what caused the blaze.

Kenyan President William Ruto commented on the "devastating news," saying he has instructed the relevant authorities to thoroughly probe the "horrific" incident.

"The Government under the Ministry of Interior and Coordination of the National Government is mobilizing all the necessary resources to support the affected families," he said on X, formerly Twitter.

What do we know about the fire?

The fire began around midnight, while the children were sleeping, police said. It engulfed rooms where over 150 students were sleeping.

They added that the average age of the victims was around 9 years old.

The primary school caters to some 800 pupils, aged between roughly five and 12.

Kenya's National Gender and Equality Commission said initial reports indicated the dormitory was "overcrowded, in violation of safety standards" and called for an immediate inquiry. 

There were fears the death toll could rise.

"The bodies recovered at the scene were burnt beyond recognition," Onyango said. "More bodies are likely to be recovered once [the] scene is fully processed."

Relatives of the students gathered outside the school building, local media showed, as they anxiously waited for updates on their children. In footage from the scene, the corrugated iron roofing of the dormitory appeared to have collapsed in on itself.

The school is located around 170 kilometers (100 miles) north of the capital, Nairobi, in Nyeri county. 

School fires are common in Kenya's boarding schools. In 2017, a school fire in Nairobi killed at least nine high school students.

rmt/nm (AFP, AP, Reuters)