10 pupils feared dead in dormitory inferno

Rescuers load the charred bodies of the deceased into a Police van following a fierce fire that razed a dormitory at Asumbi Girls Boarding Primary Schools on August 22, 2012. Photo / Nation Correspondent 

By MAURICE K'ALOUCH
Posted  Wednesday, August 22  2012 at  23:32

At least ten pupils of Asumbi Boarding Primary School, in Homa Bay County, are feared dead after a fire razed their dormitory on Wednesday night.

Initial reports indicate that the ten were among class seven and eight pupils attending August holiday tuition in the school. The institution is run by the Asumbi Catholic Church parish.

The fire is suspected to have been caused by an electricity surge after a daylong power blackout in the area.

Unconfirmed reports also indicate the dormitory's door may have been bolted from outside.

Parents whose children were at the school began streaming at the institution as soon as word on the fire went out. They were however frustrated by the school's administrators who were not forthcoming with details of the inferno.

Not even the efforts by the Police and Red Cross to get the school's administrators to give an official statement worked, as the Catholic nuns and teachers went in hiding at the convent.

Rangwe DO Daniel Cheruiot, who spoke at the scene, said he counted at least eight charred remains of girls.

“Eight bodies have been recovered from the scene and taken to the Homa Bay District Hospital Mortuary,” he said.

Mr Cheruiyot said the girls had been trapped inside the dormitory, which appeared to have been locked from outside.

Homa Bay OCPD Francis Kumut also said about ten girls were feared dead in the fire.

Parish Priest Reverend Aloise Okumu said the pupils were under the care of Catholic nuns.

Man City line up £30m bid for Luiz as Chelsea star is fined for revealing injury on Twitter

By jacko

Wanted man: Luiz

Manchester City have turned their attention to Chelsea defender David Luiz after being frustrated in their attempts to bring Daniel Agger to the Etihad Stadium.
City boss Roberto Mancini has stepped up his search for a new defender after Micah Richards was ruled out for 10 weeks.
The club were already lacking defensive cover before Richards picked up an ankle injury at the Olympics, and after several bids for Agger were rejected by Liverpool, they have now had a £30million bid turned down by Chelsea for Brazilian international Luiz, according to The Sun.
The 25-year-old was left out Chelsea's squad for Wednesday night's 4-2 win over Reading, with the player citing a knee injury as the reason on his Twitter account.
But The Sun are reporting that Luiz - who arrived at Chelsea in January 2011 in a £24million deal from Benfica - was in fact left out as the club were continuing negotiations with City over his sale.

 

The player has been fined for his use of the social networking site to break the news of his injury. Chelsea manager Roberto Di Matteo said: 'This social media thing is all around us now. We’ll deal with it internally.'

Barely missed: Chelsea secured a 4-2 victory over Reading without David Luiz

 

Mancini wants to add reinforcements to his squad before the transfer window closes next Friday to ensure that the defending Premier League champions are not overtaken by their rivals.
Chelsea are set to take their spending to £70m with the acquisition of right-back Cesar Azpilicueta from Marseille, and Manchester United have already splashed the cash on Robin van Persie and Shinji Kagawa.

City have made signing a centre-back a priority, with the ageing Kolo Toure and the error-prone Stevan Savic currently the only alternatives to their first-choice pairing of Vincent Kompany and Joleon Lescott.

New team-mates? Luiz challenges City's Aguero during the Community Shield

 

Mancini is also set to conclude a £5m deal for Swansea winger Scott Sinclair this week, while he is also in the market for another midfielder - despite Jack Rodwell having arrived last week in a £12m deal.

Chelsea would prefer to keep Luiz in their ranks, though they may be tempted by an astronomical offer given that Azpilicueta's arrival allows Branislav Ivanovic to move to centre-back and compete with Gary Cahill for a place alongside Blues skipper John Terry.

 

‘Our new signings can make the difference’

Arsenal VC Mikel Arteta

By Chris Harris

Mikel Arteta is confident that Arsenal can thrive without Robin van Persie and Alex Song - especially once their new signings settle in.

The Spanish midfielder operated in a deeper midfield role against Sunderland on Saturday in the absence of Song and his passing range and positional awareness helped Arsenal dominate their opening Premier League fixture.

Arsène Wenger's side had to settle for a 0-0 draw after squandering their chances but Arteta saw enough to suggest that Arsenal's new-look side will compete for honours this season.

"I think we are looking good," he said. "We looked really organised on Saturday, just maybe in the final third we didn't take the chances we should have done.

"It will take a while because there have been some new players coming in and we are building a new team. We have lost some important players too so we will need some time. But we wanted to start with a win and that is why we are disappointed.

"We know that our new players can make the difference as well. We will have to give them a chance to settle into a new place."

Arteta was a regular alongside Song in his first season at Emirates Stadium but he linked up well with fellow Spaniard Santi Cazorla and the fit-again Abou Diaby at the weekend - with plenty of other midfield options waiting in the wings.

"I felt really comfortable when I played with Alex last year, he was a terrific player," said Arteta. "But if he and the Club decided that the best option was for him to leave we have to accept it. I think we are good enough to carry on without him."