A week after the tragic Hillside Endarasha fire tragedy that left 21 pupils dead, new details have emerged as detectives continue to piece together information to find the cause of the tragedy.
According to latest reports from the investigators, suspicious absence of the matron from the Endarasha school at the night of the fire has raised more questions than answers as the matron failed to give satisfactory explanation.
So far, the detectives have narrowed down to three leads that will help solve the puzzle of the tragedy. On top of the list is the matron’s unexplained absence, followed by the building’s structural integrity, and the possibility of an electrical fault.
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The DCI is questioning why the matron, who was responsible for the well-being of the boys, was not present during the incident, raising concerns about her whereabouts and duties on that fateful night.
According to the Matron’s explanation of her absence, she claims that she was involved in an accident just before she reported to work in the school that night and therefore could not report to her duties at the school.
However, conflicting reports have cast doubt on whether she had officially communicated her inability to perform her duties that evening and why there was no replacement to stand in for her after she failed to report to work.
The DCI are also looking at the dormitory structure with reports indicating that the dormitory was made predominantly from iron sheets and wood, which may have contributed to the rapid spread of the fire and the metallic doors meant to secure students turning into death traps when the fire broke out.
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Detectives also exploring the possibility that an electrical malfunction could have been triggered while someone attempted to turn off the lights at the main meter which may have sparked the deadly fire. This detectives say could have been prevented if the matron was present to supervise the lights-off routine.