A resident of Embakasi and a survivor of the Thursday night gas explosion has revealed that the driver of a vehicle that was passing through the area may have caused the rapid spread of the fire.
Speaking to the press on Friday, February 2, Alfred Juma narrated that a neighbor woke him up at around 11:00 pm to inform him that there was a gas leak.
When he went out to inspect the matter, he confirmed that indeed the gas was leaking.
He then met the driver of the lorry that was transporting the gas cylinders outside the area to inquire what was going on.
Juma stated that the driver admitted that there was a gas leakage and asked him to help him wake up the neighbors in the area to ensure they were alert in case of fire.
Also Read: REVEALED: Embakasi Gas Station That Exploded Was Declared Illegal in 2020
Driver Causes Spread of Embakasi Fire
While waking up the neighbours, Juma explained that they noticed that there was a vehicle passing through the area and asked the driver to stop, informing him of the gas leak.
However, the driver refused to heed their advice and continued to speed through the area. Unfortunately, a few moments later, his engine went off.
Juma and the other neighbours attempted to stop the driver from igniting his engine, but he insisted on continuing with his journey. When he finally turned on the engine, it ignited a fire that rapidly began spreading in the area.
“When that happened, he tried igniting it and we told a neighbour who was close by to ask him not to start the engine. The driver insisted and on his third try, the vehicle caught fire and started burning,
“The fire then spread very fast in the area and the rest of us started running away in the opposite direction. I noticed that there were some two children left behind, so I came back to help them,” he narrated.
Also Read: Deaths Confirmed After Embakasi Night Fire
According to Juma, he had already called the police and informed them of the incident. Shortly after, they heard a second explosion which worsened the spread of the fire.
“After that, I called the police through the number 999 and informed them what was going on alerting them that it would lead to a big disaster. After about 30 minutes, the officers called me back to confirm the location. Shortly after the second explosion happened.
“That second explosion caused the fire to spread rapidly, and I got burnt. I immediately got into a ditch with the children and another person came and fell on top of me. When I stood up, I ran with the children,” he added.
Death Toll and Arrests
Officers from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) arrested one suspect linked to the fire as they continued to assess the scene.
Further, the officers confirmed that three were dead and indicated that about 300 hundred others were nursing wounds.
A command centre was put up at the scene to allow affected families to make any reports and inquiries.
Also, Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja announced that the government had waived hospital bills for the victims of the Embakasi fire.
