A leaking gasoline pipeline in Kenyas capital exploded today, turning part of a slum into an inferno in which at least 75 people were killed and more than 100 hurt. Flames leapt out from the pipeline in Nairobi in a radius of some 300 yards (meters), setting shacks ablaze and incinerating scores of people. Reporters later saw clusters of charred bodies and blackened bones at the site. Some burned bodies floated in a nearby river filled with sewage. Homes had been built right up to the pipeline, the residents said.
"Ive lost count of the number of bodies," said Wilfred Mbithi, the policeman in charge of operations in Nairobi as he stood at the scene. "Many had dived into the river trying to put out their flames," Red Cross official Pamela Indiaka said the Red Cross is providing body bags and has dealt with 75 bodies so far. The death toll from the blast may still rise. Nearby, a young woman clawed through smoldering timbers, screaming in grief. Others wandered by the remains of the inferno, frantically dialing phone numbers that didnt go through or staring around in disbelief. Fires still smoldered among the twisted wreckage of corrugated iron sheets and scattered possessions. Visibility was poor because of rain and smoke.