At least three people are dead and more than 270 injured after a gas lorry exploded in Nairobi last night, sending a huge fireball ripping through a nearby warehouse and several apartment blocks.
Shocking images show how the flames tore through the densely populated residential area, feeding on the fuel provided by a textiles warehouse that whipped the blaze into a terrifying inferno.
Many residents were likely inside their homes or asleep when the fire reached their houses in the Mradi area of the Nairobi neighbourhood of Embakasi at around 11:30pm local time, government spokesman Isaac Mwaura said.
‘The inferno further damaged several vehicles and commercial properties, including many small and medium sized businesses.
‘Sadly, residential houses in the neighbourhood also caught fire, with a good number of residents still inside as it was late at night,’ he added.
With 271 people admitted to hospital, the death toll is expected to rise further, Douglas Kanja, Deputy Inspector General of Police, told reporters.
Many residents were likely inside their homes or asleep when the fire reached their houses in the Mradi area of the Nairobi neighbourhood of Embakasi
Shocking images show how the flames tore through the densely populated residential area
People run for cover following a series of explosions in the Embakasi area of Nairobi on February 2, 2024
Flames engulfed apartment blocks around 11:30pm last night
Firefighters attempt to extinguish a fire in Embakasi, Nairobi, Kenya, 02 February 2024
A firefighter gathers at the scene of an explosion at a makeshift gas cylinder refilling depot in Mradi estate, Embakasi district, in Nairobi, Kenya, February 2, 2024.
A gas truck is seen burnt out, caused by an explosion at an industrial building in Nairobi, Kenya Friday, Feb. 2, 2024
Firemen extinguish a blaze following a series of explosions in the Embakasi area of Nairobi
Firemen fight a blaze following a series of explosions in the Embakasi area of Nairobi, Kenya on February 2, 2024
A fireman stands next to a burnt car following a series of explosions
Firemen fight a blaze following a series of explosions in the Embakasi area of Nairobi, Kenya on February 2, 2024
Firemen fight a blaze following a series of explosions in the Embakasi area of Nairobi, Kenya on February 2, 2024
Firemen fight a blaze following a series of explosions in the Embakasi area of Nairobi, Kenya on February 2, 2024
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 had been reduced to a twisted hunk of charred metal.
Nothing remained in the burnt-out warehouse except shells of several trucks, and the roof of a four-story residential building some 200 yards from the scene of the initial explosion was broken by a flying gas cylinder, such was the intensity of the blast.
The explosion forced many of the area’s residents to spend the night outside, with large columns of black smoke seen billowing from the area as police secured the scene and cordoned off the affected area.
Some people could be seen collecting their belongings and surveying the damage to their homes.
Some residents reported feeling tremors akin to an earthquake, while others saw the explosion firsthand.
‘We were in the house and heard a huge explosion,’ James Ngoge, who lives across the street from where the fire broke out, told reporters.
‘The whole building was shaken by a huge tremor, it felt like it was going to collapse. At first, we didn’t even know what was happening, it was like an earthquake.
‘I have a business on the road that was completely destroyed.’
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 neighbors asking them to leave,’ 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 Juma lost everything else in the fire except the clothes on his back.
Two men sit next to their belongings after leaving their affected houses following a series of explosions in the Embakasi area of Nairobi, Kenya on February 2, 2024
Residents gather at the scene of an explosion at a makeshift gas cylinder refilling depot in Mradi estate, Embakasi district, in Nairobi, Kenya, February 2, 2024.
Responders give medical attention to people with burn injuries at the scene following a series of explosions in the Embakasi area of Nairobi on February 2, 2024
A firefighter adjusts a colleague’s oxygen mask as they prepare to extinguish a blaze following a series of explosions in the Embakasi area of Nairobi on February 2, 2024
Firefighters put off a fire caused by an explosion at an industrial building in Nairobi, Kenya Friday, Feb. 2, 2024
Smoke billows as firefighters work to put-off a fire in a residential area, following explosions in an industrial company in Embakasi, Nairobi, Kenya, 02 February 2024
Fires burn at the scene of a residential area following a series of explosions in the Embakasi area of Nairobi February 2, 2024
Hundreds of people have been transferred to different hospitals, according to the Kenya Red Cross
People stand at a scene of explosion in Nairobi, Kenya Friday, Feb. 2, 2024
In this image made from video, firefighters work on a fire in Nairobi, Kenya, Friday, Feb. 2, 2024
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,’ 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 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.
In 2018, a fire at Nairobi’s Gikomba market killed 15 people and injured at least 70.
Nine of the dead were in an apartment block next to the market while six others – including four children – died of their injuries in hospital.
The pre-dawn blaze destroyed many of the market’s wood and tarp stalls where second-hand clothes, shoes and vegetables are sold.
Read More: World News | Entertainment News | Celeb News
Mail Online
