Speaking at the scene on Thursday night, Dr Ngulungu said forensic teams had completed documentation of the burnt dormitory and recovered 16 bodies from the debris.
“The purpose for today was to recover the bodies and document the scene. We have documented the scene, and we have also combed through the debris, all the cubes of this dormitory, and we have managed to recover 16 bodies,” he said.
He explained that the bodies had been secured in body bags and would be transported to Naivasha Mortuary for post-mortem examinations and further forensic analysis.
“We have documented the bodies and secured them in body bags, and we are planning to take them to Naivasha Mortuary for post-mortem and further DNA analysis,” he stated.
According to Dr Ngulungu, most of the victims were severely burnt, making visual identification almost impossible. He noted that DNA testing would be necessary to help families identify their loved ones.
“The bodies, most of them are completely charred, they are completely consumed by the products of combustion, and they might be difficult to identify, so that is the reason why we are performing the DNA so that they can be identified when we compare with the relatives,” he said.
The tragic fire has left families, students and residents in deep shock as authorities continue efforts to account for all those who may have been inside the dormitory when the blaze broke out.
Investigators and emergency response teams spent hours combing through the remains of the structure in search of victims and possible clues that could help establish the cause of the fire.
Dr Ngulungu further revealed that the search operation had been temporarily suspended due to exhaustion among rescue teams and fading daylight. However, he assured the public that the operation would resume the following day.
“For the time being, we have decided to call off the search. It is going to continue tomorrow, but because of the time and exhaustion, we have decided to stop there,” he added.
Authorities are expected to continue investigations into the circumstances surrounding the fire, with forensic experts, police officers and disaster response teams working together to determine how the blaze started and spread through the dormitory.