An explosion of a tank containing a toxic gas left 48 people admitted to hospital, some in critical condition.

The explosion, at a scrap metal yard in the densely populated Shauri Moyo Estate in Nairobi, caused panic as residents and passers-by inhaled the chlorine acid fumes.


Doctors and nurses receive a patient at Kenyatta National Hospital. Over 48 people were admitted to the hospital in serious condition after inhaling toxic gas at Shauri Moyo Nairobi, on Wednesday. Photo: Moses Omusula/Standard

The explosion filled the air with huge yellow fumes, which choked many, causing some to faint.

n the last two years there have been at least 30 major pipeline explosions and leaks of oil and gas, and possibly hundreds of smaller ones. Many have led to injuries and deaths but there has been nothing on the scale of the Nairobi explosion since 2006, when around 270 people died after a vandalised oil pipeline exploded in the Abule Egba district of Lagos, in Nigeria.

The explosions mostly take place in poor countries because international oil and gas companies often fail to bury or protect their pipelines as they would have to do by law in rich countries. The easily accessible pipes, which often run through slums and informal settlements in burgeoning cities, are tempting to desperately poor communities, who often have no electricity and must rely on oil lamps for lighting and power.

Groups of youths drill into the pipes or sabotage the pumping stations. Many have set up rudimentary refineries, where the stolen crude oil is heated up to make "bush" diesel good enough to run generators and older cars. Many of these DIY refineries explode, and fires sometimes destroy large areas.

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — A leaking gasoline pipeline in Kenya's capital exploded on Monday, turning part of a slum into an inferno in which at least 61 people were killed and more than 100 hurt.
Flames leapt out from the pipeline in a radius of some 300 yards (meters), setting shacks ablaze and incinerating scores of people. Reporters later saw clusters of charred bodies and blackened bones at the site. Some burned bodies floated in a nearby river filled with sewage. Homes had been built right up to the pipeline, the residents said.
"I've lost count of the number of bodies," said Wilfred Mbithi, the policeman in charge of operations in Nairobi as he stood at the scene. "Many had dived into the river trying to put out their flames."
Provincial Commissioner Njoroge Ndirangu said at least 61 bodies have been recovered so far, but said the death toll from the blast will rise.

NAIROBI, Kenya, May 25 - Eight factory workers were burnt to death in a tragic fire incident that occurred at Picasso Chemicals, a paint factory in Nairobi's Kariobangi estate on Tuesday.