This archive report was first published on 26 August 2021.
On August 26, 2021, a devastating petrol tanker explosion occurred along the Eldoret-Webuye road in Kakamega County, leaving several people feared dead.
The tanker, which had lost control, collided with a stationary matatu, which then hit an electricity transformer and caught fire.
According to eyewitnesses, about seven people were trapped in the matatu and feared dead.
Multiple shops near the scene also caught fire, with property of unknown value destroyed.
Firefighters were eventually able to put out the fire, but not before it had raged on for some time.
Residents who witnessed the incident described the scene as 'horrific', with one witness narrating: 'We tried to rescue a number of people who had been trapped in the Nissan but we could not manage to save all of them as the fire was strong.'
Tragically, this is not the first petrol tanker explosion in recent months, with at least two incidents occurring in the last two months.
On July 18, 2021, at least 12 people died after a fire erupted from a petrol tanker that had overturned in Malanga along Kisumu-Busia road.
Another fuel tanker lost control and burst into flames along the busy Northern Corridor Road in Busia on August 7, 2021.
Fortunately, no reports of siphoning fuel from the tanker have been reported, a common occurrence in the past that has often ended in tragedy.
