Fifteen people died and 70 were injured when fire swept through a market and nearby homes in central Nairobi in the early hours of Thursday. The blaze broke out in a timber yard, said Nairobi regional coordinator Kangethe Thuku, a senior official. It started at around 2:30 a.m. and spread through Gikomba market and nearby apartments and shanties before being contained around 90 minutes later, according to Emergency Service St John Ambulance. Located in the densely crowded downtown part of the city, Gikomba is the heartbeat of a huge informal market, selling everything from second-hand clothes to hardware. It has been damaged several times by fire. Thuku said the death toll from Thursday’s blaze had reached 15. “About five… arrived dead in the hospital but we still have about nine bodies in the burning buildings because we want to confirm and ensure the safety of those buildings,” he said. Published in Daily Times, June 29th 2018.