‘I left shoppers trapped’

A Nakumatt Downtown employee said some shoppers may have been trapped in the store. Mr Jeremiah Omuyo (left) recounted from his Kenyatta National Hospital bed how he escaped from the inferno, leaving about 20 women shoppers behind.

He said he was working at the upper floor of the store when a blackout occurred. “As I rushed down the stairs, there were many women behind me screaming,” he said.

But at the stairs, Mr Omuyo saw a huge ball of fire at the foot of the stairs, forcing them to go back. “I then opened a ceiling board and managed to go to the top of the burning roof,” he said writhing in pain. His arm was injured.

Although he was a lucky survivor, Mr Omuyo said the women may have been trapped in the fire. Earlier, a transformer blew up on Kimathi Lane near the supermarket forcing buildings to switch on generators.