Kenya Death Toll From Pipeline Blast Reaches 121, Red Cross Says
The death toll from a Sept. 12 pipeline explosion near the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, has risen to at least 121, the Kenyan Red Cross said.
The Red Cross is providing shelter and food for 426 people affected by the blast, Eddyson Nyale, group’s regional manager for eastern Kenya, said by phone today. About 146 people are still missing, he said.
The explosion took place when leaking fuel from a pipeline operated by state-run Kenya Pipeline Co. spilled into a storm drain and ignited close to the Mukuru slum, about 11 kilometers (7 miles) east of Nairobi. Police and the company are investigating the cause of blast.
Kenya’s worst petroleum accident occurred in January 2009, when 94 people died after a gasoline tanker overturned and burst into flames at Molo in the Rift Valley province, about 167 kilometers northwest of Nairobi.
To contact the reporter on this story: Eric Ombok in Nairobi at eombok@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Shaji Mathew at shajimathew@bloomberg.net
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