Traffic came to a standstill on the busy Nairobi–Mombasa Highway on Wednesday morning, October 8, after a fuel tanker overturned near Kiboko town in Makueni County.
According to preliminary reports, the driver of the tanker lost control of the vehicle, causing it to veer off the road and land in a ditch. The incident triggered panic and excitement among nearby residents, who rushed to the scene carrying jerrycans and polythene bags to scoop leaking petrol from the wreckage.
Efforts by police officers to control the crowd proved futile as residents defied safety warnings and continued siphoning fuel. Many appeared unaware of the grave danger of an explosion, despite repeated pleas from authorities to move away from the scene.
The risky behaviour rekindled memories of past tragedies where dozens of people lost their lives after collecting fuel from accident scenes that later caught fire.
Police later managed to secure the area, and the damaged tanker was towed away after several hours to allow normal traffic flow to resume.
Road safety and energy officials have since raised concerns over the incident, urging transporters to maintain strict safety standards when ferrying flammable products. They also appealed to drivers to exercise caution along the busy highway, which has recorded a rising number of accidents involving heavy commercial vehicles.
