Kenya promises inquiry into shanty town inferno

12/09/11 23:13 CET

world news

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More than 100 people are now known to have died after a petrol spill from a fuel depot ignited a fire in a densely populated shanty town in Kenya.

The government is promising a full investigation.

Authorities say at least 75 bodies have so far been recovered after the spill into an open sewer. Some 100 people have been taken to hospital with burns. Police say it is proving difficult to establish the exact number of victims among the charred remains.

Survivors have been recounting what happened. One boy said he was inside his house when fire started to burn him. He says he ran for his life and was then picked up and taken to hospital.

Authorities say it appears petrol owned by the Kenya Pipeline Company leaked into a sewage dyke and the fire was then started by a cigarette butt.

More about: Accident, Fires, Kenya, Nairobi

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