Kenya Gas Truck Blast

A truck laden with gas canisters exploded in a densely populated area of the Kenyan capital, setting off a huge blaze that killed three people and injured 280, the government said.

The blast ignited a huge ball of fire in a residential area in the southeast of Nairobi, ravaging many properties and vehicles and sending local residents running for their lives.

Firefighters managed to bring the blaze under control more than nine hours after it erupted in the Mradi area of Embakasi close to midnight.

Investigations are underway to determine the cause of the blast, which media reports said could be heard several kilometers away.

Douglas Kanja, Deputy Inspector of Police, said a guard at the site where the explosion occurred had been arrested and that investigations were ongoing.

Residents said they had long feared such a disaster, with gas trucks arriving every day in the Mradi area.

Kenyan government spokesman Isaac Maigua Mwaura said three Kenyans died and 280 others were rushed to hospital for treatment.

The explosion ignited a "huge ball of fire that spread widely", he said in a statement.

"Consequently, the inferno further damaged several vehicles and commercial properties, including many small and medium sized businesses," he said.

"Sadly, residential houses in the neighborhood also caught fire, with a good number of residents still inside as it was late at night," he added.

Several houses and vehicles were burned, with images of the scene showing the wreckage of charred vehicles.

Kenya's Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority said it had denied permission three times last year for the construction of a liquefied petroleum gas storage and filling plant at the site of the explosion.

"The main reason for the rejection was failure of the designs to meet the safety distances stipulated," it said, noting "the high population density around the proposed site".