Nairobi blast victim dies in hospital

Fire consumes clothing stocked in stalls at Assanands House on Nairobi's Moi Avenue after a huge blast. One of the four people who were admitted to the Kenyatta National Hospital following the blast in died May 31, 2012. JOAN PERERUAN

One of the four people who were admitted to the Kenyatta National Hospital following the blast in Nairobi's Moi Avenue has died.

Hospital spokesman Kibet Mengich said the patient, who was admitted to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) after suffering 90 per cent degree burns, died at 6.45am Thursday.

Following the death, one patient with 50 per cent degree burns is still admitted to the ICU while two others suffering from spinal shock and post-stress disorder are admitted in wards 6D and 8D respectively.

Mr Mengich said relatives of another patient who had suffered 10 per cent degree burns had opted to transfer her to the nearby Nairobi Hospital on Tuesday evening.

Some 36 people were rushed to the hospital moments after the explosion occurred.

And as the victims recover at KNH, relatives and friends who continued to visit the hospital recalled the anxiety they faced following the blast.

Speaking to the Nation from her hospital ward 6D where she is admitted Rachel Mwangi said she is lucky to have survived the ordeal.

"I had just finished selling a shirt to a customer in stall number three when the blast occurred tearing our building apart...

"The impact of the blast threw me to the ground and when I recovered, I was being given first-aid at the Crescent clinic near Jamii Mosque before I was referred to the Kenyatta National Hospital where I was admitted,", Ms Mwangi recalled.

She has been working at the stall belonging to her sister-in-law for the last two years.