The matatu heading to Kariobangi was ripped apart by the explosion/CFM
Nairobi police chief Moses Nyakwama said the bomb blast occurred inside a matatu in Eastleigh, although it was not immediately clear if the attacker was on board.
Nyakwama said: “We had an explosion in the matatu and what we have immediately suffered are the deaths of five people. Over 18 others are admitted mainly at the Kenyatta national Hospital and there could be more as a result of flying objects.”
The Kenya Red Cross later put the death toll at seven and 30 wounded.
The minibus was on Eastleigh’s Second Avenue and was headed to Kariobangi when the blast occurred.
The police chief said that there was probability that the improvised explosive device was planted in the vehicle and was detonated from a safe distance.
“It could have been brought in earlier and detonated from afar or set with timings to blow up,” said the PPO adding that no suspect had been arrested as claimed by some witnesses.
A witness John Mdari, who says he stood meters away from the scene of the explosion, claimed that the explosive was thrown into the number 28 matatu by four suspects, who fled in a waiting saloon car.
He said that one of the four who failed to board the car on time was arrested by the public and was being held at the Pangani Police station after being rescued.
“A young man was seen alighting from the matatu before the explosion happened. He was caught by the public but I managed to rescue him from the mob and handed him to the police,” he said.
The matatu driver Benson Kibe who survived the explosion could not recollect what happened apart from hearing a loud blast that tore his vehicle apart. He says he only braked thinking he had caused an accident.
Kibe told reporters at the scene that he had picked up 25 passengers from an area popularly known as garage in Eastleigh and was headed to Kariobangi.
“I cannot remember what happened; I cannot tell if those behind the attack were in this vehicle or outside. What I heard was the force that lifted the vehicle then I stopped to look if I had caused an accident but I had not,” he recollected.
Police were quick to respond but could not do much apart from securing the scene and commencing investigations.
Officers from the Anti Terrorism Police Unit quickly sealed off the scene and could be seen collecting projectiles.
Body parts of some of dead were scattered all over Second Avenue in Eastleigh as onlookers gathered at the scene to view the damaged matatu.
Robert Mugambi, a businessman whose shop is located next to the scene of the blast, also recounted hearing a loud blast before seeing a ball of fire.
He says human flesh was flung at his shop window forcing him to shut down operations to join in the rescue efforts.
Tension remained high on Sunday night in Eastleigh despite a heavy police presence.
Eastleigh has suffered attacks previously within successive months.
A grenade attack killed one child and wounded nine others at the Anglican St Polycarp church in Pangani (near Eastleigh) on September 30.
At least three police officers were wounded on October 12 after twin explosions went off in Eastleigh.
Among those wounded in the attack was the officer in charge of Pangani police station, who sustained injuries on his limbs.
Kenya has suffered a wave of grenade and gun attacks recently, often blamed on sympathisers of Somalia’s Shabaab Islamist insurgents and sometimes aimed at police targets, since KDF went into Somalia last year to flush out the Shabaab.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment