Now 91 killed as oil tanker explodes

• Four days after the Nakumatt Downtown fire, scores more die in Molo disaster

At least 91 people were burnt to death on Saturday when a petrol tanker from which they were siphoning off petrol burst into flames near Molo town.

Many more sustained life-threatening burns in the explosion near Jolly Farm on the Nakuru-Eldoret highway at about 7.30 p.m.

By Saturday midnight Red Cross said they had counted 91 bodies at the scene. The organisation’s head of disaster management, Nakuru region, Mr Caleb Kilande, said the number could rise.

Rift Valley PC Hassan Noor Hassan earlier said that he had ordered 150 body bags to the scene in case the death toll went that high.

Among the injured were police officers who had rushed to the scene after the petrol tanker tipped over.

Two hours after the fire started there had been no effort to put it out and this Sunday Nation writer could still see bodies burning away from a distance of about 50 metres.

The Nakuru Municipal Council’s fire engine arrived at the scene more than an hour after the explosion. Molo town has no fire engine.

Rescuers who rushed to the scene had been unable to move in and rescue the victims due to the intense heat.

Molo deputy police boss Daniel Kamanza told the Sunday Nation that he had counted 50 bodies of people who had burnt beyond recognition.

“The number could even be higher,” Mr Kamanza said.

A huge traffic jam built up on both sides of the highway as police blocked off vehicles to avoid secondary accidents. A number of motorcycles and two vehicles also caught fire in the late evening inferno that attracted dozens of shocked onlookers.

Medical staff at the Molo District Hospital where the injured were rushed by good Samaritans were fighting to save the burnt.

Reports from Provincial General Hospital Nakuru indicated that more than 100 victims of the fire tragedy had been received.

Mr Hassan was last night at the scene of the accident to spearhead the rescue efforts. The fire tragedy was the second to hit the country this week.

An eye witness told the Sunday Nation that officers from a nearby GSU camp were the first to arrive at the scene after the tanker crashed. According to the witness, the officers began demanding a fee from those who wished to scoop petrol spilling from the tanker.

“I heard someone saying that they were going to avenge the fee by starting a fire and left the scene fearing for my life,” the eyewitness said.

“Moments later, I heard the explosion.”

In the confusion the bus left the road and crashed. It is suspected that some of those who burnt were passengers on the bus.

In an earlier interview on Saturday, the Nakuru Municipal Council had conceded that it lacks the capacity to fight big fires.