Villagers thronged the scene and assessed the damage caused by the fire. [George Njunge, Standard]
Residents of the sleepy Kamirithu and Tharuni villages counted themselves lucky to be alive after the explosion of a liquefied petroleum gas tanker on Maai Mahiu road on Sunday.
The villagers thronged the scene and assessed the damage caused by the fire. Blue gum trees bordering the road were completely burnt and what remained were bare tree trunks.
Napier grass and banana plantations in nearby farms were also consumed by the raging flames.
The fire also burnt down a fence that is approximately 400 metres from the road. Pieces of burnt rubber and metal were in the farms about 200 metres from the scene of the accident, an indication of the magnitude of the explosion.
Villagers from Kamirithu and Tharuni villages at the scene of February 13's LPG tanker explosion. [George Njunge, Standard]
Njogu Kaguongo, 40, whose house is about 300 metres from the road said that accidents are common along that road and mostly involve heavy commercial vehicles that tip over on the stretch between Kamandura and Maai Mahiu.
Njogu narrated that when he woke up and found an LPG truck had tipped over a few meters from his house he knew disaster was imminent.
“I was concerned and even went to the scene but I quickly moved to a safe distance because I knew there could be a disaster. “More people thronged the scene probably looking for something to cart away and I kept shouting at them to move away,” he said.
When the crane arrived, he hoped that the recovery would end without an incident.
Burnt-out section of a truck at the scene. [George Njunge, Standard]
“I was standing by my fence watching and suddenly as the crane lifted the tank for barely a foot or two, the tank started to rotate and that is when I saw some smoke before the loud explosion which pushed the tank for about 100 metres,” Njogu said.
Joseph Matheri said he was at the nearby Kamirithu village when he heard an explosion and then saw balls of fire.
“It was like a movie scene. I run for safety then went to see what was happening since I was on the leeward side of the accident scene. I was met with cries and balls of fire that consumed everything in its path,” he said.
Matheri concurred with Njogu that accidents involving trucks are common along the Mai Mahiu road.
NTSA officials and police at the scene to assess the extent of the damage?. [George Njunge, Standard]
“I would like the authorities starting with our chief to educate our people on dangers of rushing to accident scenes,” he said.
“Our people were literally courting death, liquified gas is not to be joked with and if it explodes, it can flatten these two villages easily.”
