Catherine Bond: Death toll rises in Kenya school fire

Gutted: The domitory had beds for 96 students

Catherine Bond is CNN's Nairobi bureau chief. She has been providing updates on the tragedy in Machakos, Kenya, where 59 students were killed when a fire swept through their dormitory.

Q: Have workers been able to recover all the bodies from the dormitory?

Bond: Yes. The remains of 58th person who died in the dormitory were found today. Also, the fire’s death toll has risen to 59 since one person who had burns over 100 percent of his body died today in Nafatali Mungai of Kenyatta National Hospital.

Q: Are parents being notified about the status of their children in the aftermath of the fire?

Bond: More parents turned out at the school today because they have heard the news about the fire on television or radio. Some parents discovered that their sons were among the dead; some fainted. A few had to be taken to the hospital and treated for shock. Counseling services are being provided for the parents. Nonetheless, they are still looking for answers; on the whole, they are not getting them.

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Parents are complaining about lack of information. When they asked about their sons, they were told that maybe the boys were located somewhere else or they were asked if they had checked the Nairobi hospitals. Essentially, they have been given the run around. The education authorities have not appointed a spokesman to meet with the parents or to keep them informed. There was a big meeting between the school board and the parents, who had many questions, but received few answers.

A teacher’s conference was scheduled to be held at the school, but those who came for the conference stayed to commiserate with the school’s staff and join in prayers. Counseling has been offered to the teachers, as well, because they are suffering from a certain amount of shock over this situation.

Q: How are parents responding to this tragedy?

Bond: I got the impression today that parents are simply trying to come to terms with their palpable loss. They are still trying to work through their grief and anger. There is a major delay in identifying the fire victims because the bodies have been taken to the pathologist in Nairobi, and many are burnt beyond recognition. Parents have not yet been able to identify their sons, and some may never be able to do so. Some parents are still half hoping their sons have escaped.

Q: After the fire in Bombolulu, a commission submitted recommendations to improve school safety. Have any of those commission members commented on this situation?

Bond: There have been comments about this being a similar tragedy, making it a doubly tragic incident. Members of the inquiry into the fire three years ago say they believe that the president’s appointment of a commission confused the inquiry. They believe it would have been better if the police had been left alone to do its job.

The Bombolulu inquiry never got further than the finding that this fire may have been started by an electrical fault. Some commission members are saying that it would be better if the president did not appoint commission of inquiry for this recent fire, but to let the police do its job. However, the president has appointed a commission, and some people fear that things will get bogged down in too much detail.

Q: What has touched you the most as you observe the parents and how they are coming to terms with what has happened to their children?

Bond: It is an obvious thing to say, but to watch these parents is extremely heartbreaking. These parents have sacrifice so much to have their sons come to this school. The tuition at the school is $200 per term, which is a fairly large sum of money for the farmers and businessmen who send their children here. So, after all the years of financial sacrifice to have the money to send their sons to school and enduring the emotional hardship of having children leave home to attend school -- to find this happen is devastating.

There was one man here who lost his only son, his only child, which touched me as particularly tragic. This gentleman had been looking for his 17-year old son. Upon learning his son was one of the victims, he said, "I just feel darkness. I don’t know what to do."

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