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A gas truck is seen burnt out, caused by an explosion at an industrial building in Nairobi, Kenya, on February 2, 2024.
| Photo Credit: AP
A vehicle loaded with gas exploded and set off an inferno that burned houses and warehouses in Kenya’s capital city on February 2, injuring more than 200 people and killing at least three with the toll expected to rise.
“A number of residents were likely inside their houses when the fire broke out in the night,” government spokesman Isaac Mwaura said.
“The explosion of the truck loaded with gas ignited a huge fireball and a flying gas cylinder set of the fire that burned down the Oriental Godown, a warehouse that deals with garments and textiles,” Mr. Mwaura said. Several other vehicles and businesses were damaged by the inferno that started around 11.30 p.m. on February 1 in the Mradi area of the Nairobi neighbourhood of Embakasi.
At the scene after daybreak, several houses and shops were burnt-out. The vehicle believed to have started the explosion was tossed on its side, and only the shell remained on the road. The roof of a four-storey residential building about 200 metres (yards) from the scene of the explosion was broken by a flying gas cylinder. Electric wires lay on the ground. Nothing remained in the burnt-out warehouse except shells of several trucks.
Alfred Juma, an aspiring politician, said he heard loud noise from a gas cylinder in a warehouse next to his house. “I started waking up neighbours asking them to leave,” Mr. Juma said.
He said he warned a black car not to drive through the area, but the driver insisted and his vehicle stalled because of the fumes. “He attempted to start the car three times and that’s when there was an explosion and the fire spread into the (warehouse) setting off other explosions.”
He said he grabbed two children and they hid in a sewage ditch until the explosions ended. His family wasn’t around, but Mr. Juma lost everything else in the fire except the clothes on his back.
Neighbour Caroline Karanja said they had to run away after the explosion after police cordoned off the entire area.
“Police were turning away everyone and so it was difficult to access my house and I had to seek a place to sleep until this morning,” Ms. Karanja said. She said the smell and smoke were still choking and she would have to stay away for a while because she had young children.
“The Kenya Red Cross reported three deaths. The toll may rise after daybreak,” Embakasi police chief Wesley Kimeto said.
The government said 222 people were injured and rushed to hospitals. The Kenya Red Cross later counted more than 270 injuries.
The proximity of the industrial company to residences raised questions about enforcement of city plans. Officials at the county government have been accused of taking bribes to overlook building codes and regulations.
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