Incident took place in the Embakasi district of Nairobi late on Thursday night and firefighters were still trying to douse the flames at dawn.

The fire broke out on Thursday night in the Embakasi neighbourhood, government spokesman Isaac Maigua Mwaura said on social media platform X.

“One Lorry [truck] of an unknown registration number that was loaded with gas exploded, igniting a huge ball of fire that spread widely,” he wrote, adding that vehicles, businesses and residential homes had been consumed by the flames.

“A good number of residents [were] still inside as it was late at night,” he said.

Wesley Kimeto, commander in charge of police in Embakasi, was quoted saying on The Standard newspaper’s X account that at least two people had been confirmed dead in the incident.

The Kenyan Red Cross said it had taken some 271 people to health facilities around the capital and 27 were treated on site.

Firefighters were still working to bring the fire under control at about 6:30am local time (03:30 GMT), according to the AFP news agency, and large columns of black smoke were seen rising into the air on the outskirts of the city.