A truck “loaded with gas exploded, igniting a huge ball of fire that spread widely” in Embakasi, a neighborhood in the southeast of Nairobi, government spokesman Isaac Maigua Mwaura said on X, adding that two people had been killed and at least 222 injured.
The fire that followed then engulfed a nearby textile and garment warehouse, while damaging several vehicles and commercial and residential properties, he said in a statement to Reuters.
“As a result, two fellow Kenyans have regrettably lost their lives while being attended to at the NairobiWest Hospital,” Mwaura said in the statement, adding 222 people were injured in the incident.
The Kenyan Red Cross said various emergency units had admitted 271 individuals to hospitals in Nairobi.
Mwaura said the scene of the incident has been secured and a command centre set up to help with rescue efforts.