The government now says the Thursday night blast at a Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) plant in Nairobi’s Embakasi area was caused by incorrect refilling of the cylinders.
Energy Cabinet Secretary Davis Chirchir and his Interior counterpart Kithure Kindiki, in a joint statement released on Friday evening, said the gas cylinders were refilled using direct manifold connections to the LPG tanker.
This massively increased the risk of leakage and eventual explosion, which left three people dead and more than 300 wounded.
Property worth millions of shillings was destroyed in the fire.
“Preliminary findings indicate that on the fateful night, the refilling of LPG cylinders was done using direct manifold connections to the LPG tanker increasing the risk of leakage and explosion,” read the statement.
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They said the government will now embark on demolishing all illegal gas storage and filling plants across the country among a raft of new measures to be implemented to curb similar future tragedies.
They added the government will conduct a risk assessment exercise for all LPG plants to ensure compliance, besides instituting punishment for operators found filling cylinders without authority from the brand owners.
They added that the administration will immediately roll out an LPG growth strategy which includes the development and implementation of a track and trace framework for gas cylinders to improve traceability and accountability.
They further stated that there is a need henceforth to “strengthen the LPG data verification framework to improve accountability by players in the sector,” as well as “enhance public awareness and sensitization programs to promote LPG safety.”
They disclosed that at least three permit applications (March 19, June 20, and July 31) to construct a gas plant at the fatal site in Embakasi last year were all rejected by the authorities for not meeting set standards.
“Twice, in March 2020 and January 2021, the plant that was illegally constructed at the said location was demolished by EPRA and the operators charged in Court,” read the statement.
Security agencies are not looking for the owners of the yard. A guard who was arrested at the scene after surviving the blast said he had informed the owners there was a gas leak earlier on.
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