Pipeline explosion Kills at least 75, injures more than 100 in Kenya

A massive fireball tore through a slum in Kenya's capital after a leaking gas pipeline exploded Monday, killing at least 75 people and injuring 100 more, officials said.

Flames shot out hundreds of feet from the ruptured fuel line, incinerating an entire neighborhood and its residents.

Charred bodies floated in a nearby river and blackened bones laid near the site.

\"I've lost count of the number of bodies,\" said Wilfred Mbithi, the cop in charge of operations in Nairobi. \"Many had dived into the river to put out their flames.\"

Pockets of fire continued to bu among the smoldering wreckage of crumpled corrugated shacks.

Resident Joseph Mwangi, 34, said many of his neighbors had gone to gather leaking fuel from the pipe when an mammoth explosion ripped through the area around 9 a.m.

As he spoke, Mwangi discovered the charred remains of two small children in the but wreckage of his home.

\"Those were my children,\" he said, collapsing to the ground.

When Michael Muriuki found his daughter's smoldering body, he struggled to speak.

\"Her name was Josephine Muriuki. She was five,\" he managed to say.

The area was packed with people when the explosion erupted, tearing through rows of flimsily-constructed houses.

At least 112 bu victims have been brought to the Kenyatta National Hospital, including many young children, officials said.

\"This is a terrible accident,\" said Prime Minister Raila Odinga, as he visited the wounded.

He said the govement would pay for all medical care and would launch an investigation into the Kenya Pipeline Company to determine the cause of the leak.