At least three people were killed and more than 200 people sustained injuries following a detonation of a truck carrying gas, which triggered a large fireball destroying homes and warehouses in Nairobi, the capital of Kenya, reports said on Friday.
Kenya's government representative, Isaac Mwaura, stated that a fire erupted on Thursday night at around 11:30 pm in the Embakasi area, burning down the said godown which deals with garments and textiles.
Mwaura said that a lorry of an unknown registration number that was loaded with gas exploded, igniting a huge ball of fire that spread widely. A flying gas cylinder hit Oriental Godown, burning down the said godown which deals with garments and textiles.
Consequently, the inferno further damaged several vehicles and commercial properties, including many small and medium-sized businesses.
Residential houses in the neighbourhood also caught fire, with a good number of residents still inside as it was late at night. As a result, two fellow Kenyans have regrettably lost their lives while being attended to at the Nairobi West Hospital.
In addition, 222 other Kenyans were injured by the fire, and have been rushed to various hospitals.
The incident spot is reportedly secured and a command center is in place to help coordinate rescue operations and other intervention efforts.
The Kenyan government has activated a command centre to coordinate rescue and humanitarian efforts with the Kenya Defense Forces, Police Service, Nairobi County Government, the Kenya Red Cross, the National Disaster Operations Centre, Kenya Airports Authority, Fire and Rescue, Medecins Sans Frontiers, G4S and other agencies involved in the multi-agency rescue Operations.
Nairobi City County has waivered the hospital bills for all victims and initiated the provision of essential food and non-food items. A psychosocial counselling centre has also been set up at the Total Petrol Station to offer free counselling to victims traumatised by this unfortunate incident. Investigations to establish the cause of the fire are underway.
