Utumishi survivor reveals how hero Cecilia Wanjiku saved her before tragic death in dorm fire

A surviving Utumishi Girls student has given a heartbreaking account of how a fellow learner, Cecilia Wanjiku, died after bravely trying to rescue others during the tragic dormitory fire that killed at least 16 students.

Cecilia Wanjiku, a student at Utumishi Girls Academy in Gilgil, is widely remembered as a hero who repeatedly went back into the burning dormitory to help trapped classmates instead of escaping to safety herself.

The survivor says the situation inside the dorm quickly became unbearable as smoke filled the rooms and exits were difficult to access. She recalls that an exit had been locked, leaving many students trapped and struggling to breathe as panic spread through the building.

As the smoke thickened, she says she eventually collapsed and sat down, feeling like she was running out of air and had accepted what seemed like the end.

It was at that moment, she says, that Cecilia Wanjiku appeared, refusing to give up on others even as the fire intensified.

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“I am thankful to have survived,” she told Citizen TV, adding she was in pain for losing her friends.

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Witnesses and tributes describe Cecilia as moving through the smoke-filled dormitory, urging girls to stay low and follow her as she attempted to guide them to safety.

However, Cecilia did not make it out alive. Reports indicate she died after sustaining severe injuries while trying to save her schoolmates, with fellow students later crediting her for helping many escape before she succumbed.

Cecilia Wanjiku has since been widely mourned across Kenya, with leaders and residents describing her as a brilliant student with a promising future who chose courage over self-preservation in her final moments.

Authorities are still investigating the cause of the fire and the circumstances that led to students being trapped inside the dormitory.

Source: NGBREAKINGNEWS