Transport along the Eldoret-Webuye road was on Saturday, January 11, temporarily interrupted after a trailer ferrying fuel overturned, blocking the busy road.
Moments after the accident, a group of residents rushed to the scene and began scrambling for the fuel, which had started spilling all over the highway.
According to reports, the accident occurred after the trailer reportedly lost control before veering off the highway and overturning near a thicket in the Mukhonje area in Kakamega County.
However, despite police intervention to stop the resident from fetching the fuel, the adamant and rowdy locals overpowered the officers and proceeded with their intention.
Videos and images obtained by Kenyans.co.ke showed hundreds of residents holding jerricans rushing towards the scene of the incident to siphon the fuel.
The footage further showed traffic police officers helplessly staring at the residents as they overwhelmingly surrounded the tanker, scrambling for the spillage.
While some fetched the deadly liquid, others stood from a distance and recorded the unfolding using their gadgets, ignoring the imminent danger of a possible explosion.
The dangerous scene echoed an almost similar incident three years ago when at least 13 people died in Gem Sub-County, Siaya, after a fuel tanker exploded while residents siphoned the liquid from an overturned trailer.
The incident, which occurred in 2021, took place after the trailer ferrying fuel from Mombasa to Kampala lost control and rolled over the Kisumu-Busia highway.
In disregard of a potential explosion, the area residents rushed to the scene holding jerricans and began fetching the fuel only for the vehicle to explode, killing the 13 and leaving others nursing critical burns.
In an analogous situation in March 2023, at least four people died and several others were left injured after a trailer that was ferrying fuel along the Eldoret-Webuye highway exploded while residents were siphoning the flammable liquid.
The trailer burst into flames during an altercation between the locals and the area police officers, who attempted to stop the residents from approaching the transit vehicle.
