At least 75 houses have been burnt down by a mysterious fire at the Waruku Estate in Westlands, Nairobi County, leaving behind a trail of destruction.
Reports indicate that the incident occurred on Wednesday morning at around 4am while most of the residents were asleep. However, it's not yet clear whether there were casualties.
According to a witness, the fire began at one of the informal housing units before it quickly escalated to other buildings, destroying everything completely.
The situation was worsened by the fact that most of the houses were made of iron sheets and wooden frames, which are highly flammable. Efforts by the residents to put out the fire proved futile.
Videos and images obtained by Kenyans.co.ke showed several houses engulfed in smoke, even as locals struggled to put out the fire. Others could be seen watching the unfolding from a distance.
After several hours of battling the inferno without success, firefighters from the Nairobi County Disaster Management team arrived and quelled the flames that had already destroyed a huge chunk of properties.
While the main cause of the fire is yet to be established, a section of the locals now claims that the inferno could have been a result of an electrical fault in one of the buildings.
While confirming the tragedy, Member of County Assembly representing Kileleshwa ward, Robert Alai, noted that the affected families lost everything.
"My heart aches for the moms without pots, kids without beds or uniforms, and workers stripped bare. No one faces this alone. I am rallying friends, corporates, well-wishers, and the government to help," Alai commented.
The Waruku tragedy has since sparked concerns among a section of Kenyans who have come out to question the recent surge in fire incidents in some of Nairobi's informal settlements.
This comes just a month after two people died and several others were injured following a fire incident in the Sinai area of Mukuru kwa Ruben in Nairobi's Eastlands.
The incident happened on September 24, at around 2am, burning down over 200 houses and leaving hundreds of families stranded in the cold night.
While lamenting over the incident, the residents criticised the Nairobi County Government disaster management team for reportedly arriving late.
