Kenya Red Cross: 111 dead in fuel blaze

MOLO – An overturned petrol tanker exploded as hundreds of people were trying to scoop up free fuel, killing at least 111 people and wounding 200 in one of Kenya’s deadliest accidents, officials said yesterday.

Hundreds of people were surrounding the overturned truck and blocking a road in the town of Molo on Saturday night when the petrol ignited in a blast that was felt for miles, said Charles Kamau, 22, who ran from his car as flames shot into the air.
‘Everybody was screaming and most of them were running with fire on their bodies, they were just running into the bush,’ he told The Associated Press.
Overwhelmed hospitals nearby were packed with victims, including small children, suffering from horrific burns. Many were lying on the floors, hooked up to drips and moaning in pain as doctors tried to save their lives.
Supplies, including body bags and extra medicine, were being sent by helicopter to the region.
Burnt-out cars and charred clothing littered the road where the shell of the tanker stood in Molo, about 170 kilometres outside the capital, Nairobi. Authorities were combing through the scorched forest by the road for any corpses.
Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga told a news conference that it appeared that someone’s cigarette caused the explosion but police were still investigating.
The Kenya Red Cross said the death toll was 111 but was expected to rise.
– Nampa-AP