CAUSE FOR NAIROBI EXPLOSION UNKNOWN AS YET BUT ACCIDENT STRONGLY SUSPECTED
Update
It was overnight confirmed that the explosion at a Nairobi fuel station was indeed an accident, putting any other speculations remaining to a firm rest. Official sources, while still tight lipped, point to a fuel leak of fuel fumes which might have been ignited by welding sparks as a very likely cause of the blast. At least one person has also been confirmed dead and the number of injured treated in various hospitals has been pegged at nearly 50, although many have been released after receiving first aid for cuts and bruises. As many as six are said to remain in critical but stable condition in intensive care units of city hospitals.
A sizeable explosion appears to have rocked Nairobi earlier today resulting in as many as 30 people being injured but at this moment thankfully there are no reports of anyone having been killed.
A source in Nairobi did say that a number of those injured suffered severe burns and are presently admitted at Kenya’s largest referral and national hospital in the city.
The resulting fire was being dealt with by the Nairobi Fire Brigade and the area has been cordoned off to allow for a full scale investigation on the cause of the fire and apparent prior explosion, after the flames had been fully extinguished.
Police sources were quoted in local media reports picked up in Kampala that the public should desist from any speculation over the cause of the incident as it was too early to make conclusive statements, but would not rule in nor out any possible cause.
A source close to the Kenya Tourist Board also asked to get the message out immediately that this could just as well have been an accident involving hazardous or flammable materials stored at the site and that the destination Kenya was safe for tourist visitors, a sentiment this correspondent can underscore having been in Nairobi just a few days ago. The Kirinyaga/Accra road junction, where the blast occurred is not an area tourists would ordinarily visit nor an area of any strategic value, lending credibility to emerging information that it may indeed have been a simple accident.
Watch this space or the news media for further updates.
