Foreign News
Gas blast in Kenyan capital kills three and injures nearly 300
A huge gas blast in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, has killed at least three people and injured nearly 300.
A lorry carrying gas cylinders exploded in Embakasi district at about 23:30 (20:30 GMT) on Thursday, “igniting a huge ball of fire”, an official said.
Housing, businesses and cars were damaged, with video showing a huge blaze raging close to blocks of flats.
An investigation has started and Kenya’s deputy president has said those responsible will be held accountable.
A child was among those who died, according Embakasi police chief Wesley Kimeto, who added that the death toll could rise. Some 271 people were taken to hospital, according to the authorities, including at least 25 children.
Nairobi county Governor Sakaja Johnson said many of these people had been treated and sent home, but at least 39 have been sent to other facilities – some with critical injuries. A further 27 people were treated on site for non-life-threatening injuries.
The government initially said the blast happened at a gas plant where workers were refilling gas cylinders, but the authorities later clarified that a truck had exploded in a parking yard.
According to government spokesperson Isaac Mwaura, a fireball from the blast “spread widely”. A flying gas cylinder hit a clothing and textiles warehouse, burning it down. “The inferno further damaged several vehicles and commercial properties, including many small and medium sized businesses,” he said in a statement. “Sadly, residential houses in the neighbourhood also caught fire, with a good number of residents still inside, as it was late at night.”
The fire has been contained and a search and rescue operation has been launched to find out if people are missing or have simply taken shelter elsewhere.
“There is still a search going on of whether there are bodies which have been burnt in various houses,” said Embakasi East MP Babu Owino.
The Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (Epra) said in a statement that the gas plant was illegal and that it had rejected three applications for construction permits to build a storage and filling facility at the site. Epra said the designs did not meet its safety standards and there was a high population around the proposed site. It is not clear how the facility was still able to operate.
Mr Mwaura, who visited the site, said the owners of the company involved must “compensate the victims” and take “full responsibility” for the explosion. “It is immoral to risk the lives of fellow Kenyans for profit,” he added. “Sometimes we have weak enforcement institutions and of course the element of corruption, which has now led to the death of three of us Kenyans.”
Kenyan Vice-President Rigathi Gachagua promised a tough government response. “As we call for caution and adherence to the rule of law, those culpable in this unacceptable occurrence will be held accountable,” he said.
About 10 trucks were completely burned inside the compound where the explosion occurred. One vehicle landed on top of a block of flats dozens of metres away, partially destroying the building’s front.
Witnesses told the BBC that the explosion sent objects including gas cylinders and a shipping container, flying into the air.
At the Mama Lucy Kibaki Hospital, where many of the injured were initially treated, the BBC spoke to a man named Geoffrey. He said he and his family were woken by a big explosion and thought their building was collapsing.”When I saw that the fire was too much, I used my body to shield my child and sustained burns on my back in the process,” said Geoffrey.”My family members got minor injuries but I got the most severe burns”.
Isaac Mwaura, the government spokesperson, said a command centre has been set up to help co-ordinate rescue operations and humanitarian assistance is being given to those affected.
He also said the government plans to provide two months’ rent for survivors whose houses were razed in the explosion.
(BBC)
Six police officers have been killed in Thailand after their plane crashed into the sea during a test flight for parachute training, police have said.
The small plane was seen crashing into the water at around 08:00 local time (01:00 GMT) on Friday in the Cha-am district, a coastal resort area some 130km (80 miles) southwest of Bangkok.
Royal Thai Police said in a statement on Facebook that five of the officers died at the scene, with a sixth later dying in hospital.
Authorities are examining the aircraft’s black box data recorder to determine the cause of the crash.
(BBC)
At least two dozen people have been killed after gunmen opened fire on a group of domestic tourists visiting a popular beauty spot in Indian-administered Kashmir, authorities have told the BBC.
The attack took place in Pahalgam, a picturesque town in the Himalayas often described as the “Switzerland of India”.
The region’s chief minister, Omar Abdullah, said the attack was “much larger than anything we’ve seen directed at civilians in recent years”. Reports suggest that there are a large number of wounded, with some in critical condition.
US President Donald Trump, Russian President Vladimir Putin and EU chief Ursula Von der Leyen were among world leaders who condemned the attacks.
“Deeply disturbing news out of Kashmir. The United States stands strong with India against Terrorism,” Trump said in a post on Truth Social.
Von der Leyen called the Kashmir deaths a “vile terrorist attack”, while Putin expressed “sincere condolences” for the consequences of a “brutal crime”.
India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi – who cut short his trip to Saudi Arabia in the wake of the attack – said the perpetrators would “be brought to justice”.
“Our resolve to fight terrorism is unshakeable and it will get even stronger,” Modi wrote in a statement on X.
Tuesday’s attack is unusual in that, in three and a half decades of conflict, tourists have rarely been targeted – especially on such a scale.
Home Minister Amit Shah travelled to Srinagar, Kashmir’s largest city, on Tuesday to hold an emergency security meeting.
The region’s Lieutenant Governor, Manoj Sinha, said the army and police had been deployed to the scene.
No group has claimed responsibility for the attack. There has been a long-running insurgency in the Muslim-majority region since 1989, although violence has waned in recent years.
The attack took place in Baisaran, a mountain-top meadow three miles (5km) from Pahalgam.
Vehicles are unable to reach the area where the shooting occurred, Inspector General of Jammu and Kashmir Police Vidi Kumar Birdi told BBC Hindi.
A tourist from Gujarat, who was part of a group that was fired upon, said that chaos broke out after the sudden attack, and everybody started running, crying and shouting.
Video footage shared by Indian media outlets appears to show Indian troops running towards the scene of the attack, while in other footage victims can be heard saying that the gunmen had singled out non-Muslims.
Footage on social media, which has not been verified by the BBC, appears to show bodies lying on a meadow with people crying and pleading for help.
Police said multiple tourists had been taken to hospital with gunshot wounds. The area has been cordoned off and soldiers are stopping vehicles at checkpoints. A joint search operation by the Indian army and Jammu and Kashmir police is ongoing.
Several protests have been organised for Wednesday, according to Indian media.
Since the 1990s, an armed separatist insurgency against Indian rule in the region has claimed tens of thousands of lives, including those of civilians and security forces.
The Himalayan region was divided following India’s independence from Britain, partition and the creation of Pakistan in 1947.
The two uclear armed states both claim the region in its entirety and have fought two wars and a limited conflict over it in the decades since.
Some 500,000 Indian soldiers are permanently deployed in the territory. The government claims the security situation has improved and violence has come down since Modi revoked Kashmir’s partial autonomy in 2019, although there are still incidents of violence.
The last major attack on civilians occurred in June 2024 when nine people were killed and 33 injured after militants opened fire on a bus carrying Hindu pilgrims. In 2019, a suicide bombing in Indian administered Kashmir killed at least 46 soldiers and prompted Indian airstrikes on targets in Pakistan.
Pahalgam is a popular tourist destination, both domestically and internationally, and in recent years the government has attempted to encourage further tourism to the region.
Around 3.5 million tourists visited Kashmir in 2024, according to official figures.
[BBC]
Police in Ecuador say they have arrested four people in connection with an attack by gunmen at a cockfighting ring in which 12 people died.
Weapons and replica police and army uniforms were seized during police raids in the north-western Manabí province on Friday – a day after the attack in the rural community of La Valencia.
Footage of the attack shared on social media showed gunmen entering the ring and opening fire, as terrified spectators dived for cover.
Reports in local media suggested the attackers in fake military gear were members of a criminal gang whose rivals were at the cockfight.
A criminal investigation has been launched by the provincial authorities.
As many as 20 criminal gangs are believed to be operating in the Latin American country, vying for control over major drug routes.
Ecuadorean President Daniel Noboa has said that about 70% of the world’s cocaine now flows through Ecuador’s ports before being shipped to the US and Europe.
The drug is smuggled into Ecuador from neighbouring Colombia and Peru – the world’s two largest producers of cocaine.
This January saw 781 murders, making it the deadliest month in recent years. Many of them were related to the illegal drug trade.
[BBC]
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