Tuesday, February 3, 2009

Kenyans Running on Fumes

Maybe Obama's brother started it.

You didn't see where he threw that blunt, did you?


"Images haunt witnesses of Kenya tanker fire; death toll at over 100" by Elizabeth A. Kennedy, Associated Press | February 2, 2009

MOLO, Kenya - The explosion of an overturned tanker could be felt for miles, and the moments that followed haunted survivors: People ablaze, their clothes burned off, running to the bush in a futile effort to escape the pain and begging for help.

More than 100 people were killed, and another 200 injured in the inferno overwhelmed hospitals yesterday, where victims lined the floors, hooked to drips and moaning in pain. Authorities expected the death toll to rise and were searching for corpses.

Hundreds of impoverished people had flocked to the overturned tanker Saturday to siphon fuel when it exploded, probably sparked by a cigarette.

"Everybody was screaming and most of them were running with fire on their bodies, they were just running into the bush," said Charles Kamau, 22, who was driving through Molo on Saturday night when he saw the road blocked by hundreds of people with gerry cans, plastic bottles and buckets - anything to siphon some free fuel.

The explosion was one of this East African nation's deadliest accidents, and highlighted the desperation of people living in Africa. "Poverty is pushing our people into doing desperate things just to get through one more day," Prime Minister Raila Odinga said at a hospital in Nakuru, near Molo.

Joseph Rotich, 35, lives in Molo and ran to the scene when he heard that a tanker was spilling fuel. He was haunted by the severely wounded victims, their clothes burned off.

"They were lying there, saying, 'Give me aid, please call someone,' " he said. "I am so sad, so sad."

The government sent extra body bags and medical supplies to the area by helicopter, along with more doctors for the overwhelmed hospitals, where some victims were lying on floors. One child, who appeared to be about 10 years old, was sitting dazed in a wheelchair with burns covering his face and body.

--more--"