Fresh gas leak reported at site of deadly Kenyan blast

Authorities in Kenya's capital, Nairobi, have evacuated residents from the area where a gas blast killed three people and injured nearly 300 last week, after a suspected fresh gas leak was reported.

Schools in the neighborhood of Embakasi have also asked parents to pick their children.

The area has since been secured by authorities, Nairobi County's head of Disaster Management Bramwel Simiyu was quoted as saying by the private NTV channel.

"It is just precautionary we have evacuated them as we invited the Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (Epra) to identify whether there is a threat," Mr Simiyu told Kenyans news website.

Last week several residents told local media that authorities had ignored their reports about a gas leak, hours before the fatal Thursday night explosion.

A lorry carrying gas cylinders exploded on Thursday at about 23:30 local time (20:30 GMT), "igniting a huge ball of fire", an official said, and destroying several homes and vehicles.

The death toll from the blast rose to six on Sunday.