Deadly fire rips through boarding school in Kenya
Global News Podcast
BBC
4.3 • 8.3K Ratings
🗓️ 28 May 2026
⏱️ 30 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
The fire at the Utumishi Girls Academy started in the early hours of Thursday, killing at least 16, as the students were asleep in the dormitory block. More than 800 children were in the school at the time. Kenyan officials say the cause of the fire has not yet been established. Boarding schools in the country have experienced several fatal fires in recent years, with overcrowding and poor safety standards frequently blamed for the high number of casualties.
Also in this podcast: Israel conducts airstrikes in Lebanon's Tyre, Sidon and Beirut. The US says it wants to treat Americans with Ebola abroad - we ask a doctor if that is the most efficient way to curb the spread of the disease. Why the price of coffee has surged. Australia sues the manufacturing giant 3M for a record sum over its alleged use of toxic chemicals such as PFAS in firefighting foam. A Google engineer is charged with insider trading after winning $1.2m on Polymarket betting. A buffalo in Bangladesh is spared from Eid sacrifice - after it went viral for what people say is a likeness to Donald Trump. And is a black flowing gown an acceptable tennis outfit at the French Open?
The Global News Podcast brings you the breaking news you need to hear, as it happens. Listen for the latest headlines and current affairs from around the world. Politics, economics, climate, business, technology, health – we cover it all with expert analysis and insight. Get the news that matters, delivered twice a day on weekdays and daily at weekends, plus special bonus episodes reacting to urgent breaking stories. Follow or subscribe now and never miss a moment. Get in touch: globalpodcast@bbc.co.uk
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | BBC Sounds, Music, Radio, podcasts. |
| 0:05.8 | You're listening to the Global News podcast from the BBC World Service. |
| 0:11.2 | Hello, I'm Oliver Conway. We're recording this at 15 hours GMT on Thursday the 28th of May. |
| 0:17.6 | A fire has ripped through a girls' boarding school in Kenya, killing at least 16 pupils. |
| 0:22.8 | Israel says it's carried out an airstrike on southern Beirut as it steps up. It's offensive in Lebanon. |
| 0:28.4 | And the U.S. says a ballistic missile launched by Iran overnight was a violation of their ceasefire. |
| 0:36.7 | Also in this podcast. |
| 0:40.7 | There are so many similarities to the US President Donald Trump. |
| 0:44.1 | The only difference is this is a buffalo and President Trump is a human being. |
| 0:47.9 | The Bangladeshi buffalo saved from slaughter because it looked a bit like the US president. |
| 1:04.4 | The grim task of identifying victims from a fire at a school dormitory is underway in Kenya. |
| 1:09.7 | At least 16 students died in the blaze in the early hours of Thursday at the Utumishi Girls Academy, |
| 1:13.4 | about 100 kilometres northwest of Nairobi. |
| 1:18.6 | Kenya's education minister, Julius Ogamba, gave this update from the scene. We woke up with the third news of a fire incident at this school, |
| 1:23.8 | Utumishi Senior School. |
| 1:26.3 | About 12.45 a.m., a fire broke out in one of the domes on the second floor. |
| 1:33.2 | The response teams, of course, managed to put out the fire by about 3am, but by then the damage had already been done. |
| 1:40.8 | Anxious parents gathered outside, hoping for news of their loved ones, |
| 1:45.9 | including this distraught man looking for his daughter. |
| 1:49.0 | Please can I go and check? |
| 1:50.6 | I know my daughter who she looks at you. |
| 1:52.2 | I know. |
... |
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