100 dead as Kenya wakes up to fire tragedy

[Bosonic]

Source: Capital News

NAIROBI, Kenya, Sep 12 – At least 100 people were killed after a fire at a pipeline near the KPC depot in Nairobi’s Industrial Area.

Capital News Senior reporter Bernard Momanyi who reached the scene after agonising through traffic said he had counted at least 102 bodies that were being retrieved from about 12pm.

Rescuers had a difficult time accessing the scene of the tragedy and there were fears the fire would spread to a nearby slum.

Scores of other people injured in the mishap were rushed to hospital.

Read more: http://www.capitalfm.co.ke/news/2011/09/12/100-feared-dead-as-kenya-wakes-up-to-fire-tragedy/

[SpiralHawk]

1. A pipeline tragedy?

Hmmmmm...sounds horrible.

[tawadi]

3. Yeah, the headlines are strange

The loss of human life is the tragedy. One would think.

[tawadi]

2. “There had been a leak in the fuel pipeline earlier, and people were going to collect the fuel"

:-(

[undeterred]

4. Kenya fire: Nairobi pipeline blaze 'kills at least 63'

Source: BBC News

The blast took place in the city's Lunga Lunga industrial area, and police and troops cordoned off the area as firefighters battled fierce flames in the surrounding shanty town.

The pipeline runs through the densely populated Sinai slum area between Nairobi's city centre and the airport. More than 110 people have been taken to hospital, officials said.

Reports suggest Monday's blast may have been sparked by a cigarette butt being thrown into an open sewer that was filling with fuel.

The fuel had leaked from a tank in a depot belonging to the Kenya Pipeline Company, police spokesman Charles Owino told Reuters news agency. Residents said the spill had prompted many people to rush and collect leaking fuel.


Read more: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-14879401

[undeterred]

5. From the scene:

Hassan Lali

BBC News, Nairobi

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The scene is horrific, with charred bodies all around. I cannot differentiate between men and women or boys and girls. All that is left are bones, and the only way to identify the children is from their smaller skeletons.

Many houses - shacks roofed with metal sheets - have been razed to the ground and plumes of smoke hang in the air.

The police, paramedics and firefighters are here but have not yet started picking up bodies. They are still assessing the situation.

Residents are walking around in a state of shock. Most have lost family or friends, and they feel helpless, as there is nothing they can do.

[MrNJ]

6. unpossible

Only nuclear power is dangerous.

Oil and coal are as safe as daisies and kittens.


:sarcasm:

[Lucky Luciano]

7. This line explains the kind of poverty people are afflicted with there:

"Residents said the spill had prompted many people to rush and collect leaking fuel."

[COLGATE4]

8. This type of tragedy happens again and again in Africa where

poverty is great and when a pipeline is punctured - people rush in to try and caspture some of the fuel, something (or someone) sets off a spark and...