Nairobi slum counts the dead in fire tragedy wake

Witnesses said the spill from a Kenya Pipeline Company line attracted slum dwellers who wanted to scoop the fuel before the fire caused a succession of explosions.

“There had been a leak in the fuel pipeline earlier and people were going to collect the fuel that was coming out,” said Mr Joseph Mwego, a witness. “Then there was a big explosion, smoke and fire.”

Some of the victims jumped into a nearby river in an attempt to save their lives.

Sinai is a densely-populated slum which sits on top of a pipeline that branches from an oil depot on Lunga Lunga Road in Industrial Area.

Fears over safety for the slum dwellers were first raised by our sister publication, the Daily Nation, in 2009 when Energy permanent secretary Patrick Nyoike said those who live in the area should be compensated and moved.

“We relocated some residents last year. If this had not been done, the disaster would have been greater,” Mr Nyoike said in an interview with the Business Daily on Monday.

A resettlement action plan funded by the World Bank is currently being prepared.

A press conference called by KPC was called off in the afternoon after intelligence filtered reports that slum dwellers would disrupt it.
Officials from the Kenya Red Cross said the number of casualties could not be confirmed because they had been taken to different hospitals.

“We are setting up tracing desks at the scene where relatives can report and confirm about the location of their relatives,” said an official at the scene.

Hospitals yesterday sent out appeals for blood donations to cater for those who would need surgery.

By last evening, 113 people had been admitted at the Kenyatta National Hospital with various degrees of burns.

Fuel supplies

At the scene of the tragedy, firefighters sprayed foam on the fire in an attempt to contain it, while both police and GSU officers sealed off the area.

KPC said in a statement that the line had been shut down for repairs.

The corporation asked oil marketers to initiate contingency plans to avoid disruption of fuel supplies.

“Oil marketing companies have been alerted to initiate emergency response plans.

The situation has been brought under control and mitigation steps have been taken,” said KPC managing director Selest Kilinda.

The company said the spillage occurred at a by-pass between the Nairobi- Mombasa (Line 1) and the newly built Eldoret-Nairobi section (Line IV).

Last year, 122 people died when a fuel tanker exploded in the Sachang’wan area near Molo on the Nakuru-Eldoret highway.
The fire was reportedly ignited by a smoker.

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