Hundreds Injured and Multiple Dead After Gas Explosion in Kenya’s Capital

(NationRise.com) – A vehicle full of gas exploded on February 2 and set off a massive blaze that burned warehouses and homes in Kenya’s capital, Nairobi. Local officials pointed out that what happened was a “tragedy” where six people “lost their lives” and nearly 300 were severely injured.

During a press conference, the Kenyan government’s spokesperson Isaac Mwaura said that many residents were inside their houses when the blaze reached their homes in the neighborhood Embakasi, which is located in the capital city’s Mradi area. Mwaura added that the truck explosion created a “giant fireball,” with flying gas cylinders setting off a fire that burned down a textile and garment warehouse called Oriental Godown. When asked the exact hour when everything started, the spokesperson said it was around 11:30 pm.

According to different reports, several shops and houses were burned out at the scene after daybreak, with the shell of the vehicle that started the explosion lying on its side. Also, the roof of a five-story building, which was nearly 300 yards from the scene of the blast, was utterly destroyed by a flying gas cylinder. When asked about the scene, Mwaura said that the only thing that remained in the warehouse were the shells of numerous trucks.

The Kenya Red Cross and the country’s national police said that many officers are looking for missing people and attending to those who survived. The Embakasi police chief, Wesley Kimeto, said in a statement that 275 people were immediately taken to different hospitals across Nairobi with severe injuries. He added that the death toll is expected to rise.

An aspiring politician named Alfred Juma said that he heard a loud noise from a gas cylinder in a warehouse near his house. He explained he woke up his neighbors and asked them to leave immediately, and even warned a “black vehicle” not to drive through the area. However, he said that the driver claimed his car stalled because of “the fumes” and attempted to start it two times. Juma said that, at that moment, the explosion started, and the fire spread into the warehouse, which set off “other explosions.”