Image via WikipediaBY CATHERINE KARONG'O and LORDRICK MAYABI from Capital FM
The casualties were rushed to various hospitals in the city, some in critical condition, as the government deployed bomb experts to establish the cause of the midday explosion.“One person has died from this explosion 28 others are still receiving treatment in hospitals around the city, the number of casualties might rise because businessmen and their customers were caught unaware,” Police Spokesman Erick Kiraithe told journalist late on Sunday.
“It is still too early to ascertain the cause but we have our team of the anti terrorism police, our bomb experts and the officers from the Criminal Investigations Department on the ground,” he added.
Witnesses told Capital News at the scene that the sudden explosion caught many off guard.
“I was talking with a friend inside a vehicle then we heard the loud explosion followed by a cloud of smoke. I told my friend to run for his life. I came out through the car window, I fell on the ground,” said one witness.
“I think it was a missile because it was thrown to this side,” another told Capital News.
However, police were yet to ascertain the cause or source of the explosion.
The blast caused a fire at a nearby petrol station which was completely destroyed in the incident.
Prime Minister Raila Odinga visited the scene.
“We cannot ascertain the actual cause of the explosion but we are optimistic that the ongoing investigations will come up with something,” the Premier told Journalists.
Speculation was rife that there could be other people trapped underneath some containers that served as shops for scrap metal along the street. However, no casualties were found from the debris.
The Prime Minister said the team on the ground would also quantify the extent of the damage to local businesses premises and other adjacent buildings that included a residential building.
“I don’t know what happened, I was sitted in my house when I heard the explosion and the windows broke injuring me,” said one of the casualties who suffered hand injuries.
Bomb experts from the military were digging the scene for clues that could unravel the cause of the explosion that shuttered adjacent buildings and businesses. Majority of the casualties suffered second degree burns while five of them sustained multiple fractures caused by shrapnel.
Chairman of the Disaster Committee at the Kenyatta National Hospital Dr Peter Wanyoike said a special ward had been set aside for the blast victims.
“We expect some walk- in patients to show up and also some referral from other hospitals where some of casualties were rushed,” Dr Wanyoike said.
Read more: http://www.capitalfm.co.ke/news/Kenyanews/Death-as-explosion-rocks-downtown-Nairobi-13077.html#ixzz1ORhS6XZc
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