Two minors were killed in a fire incident in Magarini subcounty, Kilifi county, after a house was reduced to ashes in Mapotea Village, police have said.

The incident, which occurred on Thursday, involved the home of a 70-year-old woman.

According to preliminary reports, the woman is said to have placed a sack of charcoal inside the house at around 7pm before leaving at about 9pm.

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She reportedly returned at around 3am and found the house completely burnt down.

Police officers who visited the scene confirmed that the structure had been destroyed by fire. Two bodies were later recovered from the debris.

The victims were identified as a nine-year-old Grade 3 pupil at Karimboni Comprehensive School and his seven-year-old sister, a Grade 2 pupil at the same school.

Police said the scene had been documented as investigations continue to establish the cause of the fire. The homeowner was taken in by detectives from Magarini for statement recording.

In a separate incident, a family in Kwanza, Trans Nzoia county, is mourning the death of a one-year-five-month-old child who drowned in an open borehole at Sabwani 'B' Village in Bidii location on Thursday.

Police said the child went missing from home at around 9.30am, prompting a search by parents and neighbours. The body was later discovered in a nearby uncovered borehole belonging to a neighbour, about seven metres from the family’s home.

The child’s parents said he had been in good health before disappearing. Officers from Maili Saba Police Station, alongside detectives and Scenes of Crime personnel from Kitale, processed the scene. No visible injuries were observed on the body.

The body was moved to Wamalwa Kijana Teaching and Referral Hospital mortuary pending a postmortem examination. Authorities have urged residents to ensure boreholes and other water points are properly secured to prevent similar tragedies.

Meanwhile, in Ngarengiro, Laikipia county, an 11-year-old girl drowned in River Nanyuki in another incident.

Police said the body was retrieved and taken to the mortuary for an autopsy as investigations continue into the circumstances surrounding the drowning.

Authorities have noted a worrying rise in drowning cases in recent months, often linked to flooding and water safety hazards, with several deaths and displacements reported across different parts of the country.