In yet another display of ignorance, Kenyans rushed to salvage petrol from a fuel tanker that overturned in Mai-Mahiu, along the Nairobi-Naivasha Highway on Thursday.
In the video, locals are seen running towards the tanker with drums hoping to get a free share of the highly flammable petroleum product that has in the recent past claimed hundreds of lives by burning them alive.
#KenyanTraffic Mai Mahiu road pic.twitter.com/jAz98SL73z via @LONEXBA
— KenyanTraffic (@KenyanTraffic) October 17, 2019
The locals, almost all male, are seen unhurriedly collecting the fuel into their jerrycans as a policeman stands un-bothered by the situation, directing traffic.
Death from fuel tankers catching fire are not uncommon in the country, both as a result of human negligence and unavoidable circumstances.
In 2009, a deadly fire consumed over 100 people after a fuel tanker exploded as they rushed to collect the gushing fuel from the vehicle which had been involved in an accident at Sachangwan area, along the Nakuru-Eldoret Highway.
It is suspected that the fire started after one of the locals rushed to the scene while smoking a cigarette, oblivious of the highly flammable nature of petrol.
Most of the victims died on the scene of the explosion, while several others died in a nearby forest while trying to escape the tragedy.
In 2016, 40 people died after a tanker transporting fuel to Uganda lost control and rammed into other vehicles at Kinungi area along the Nairobi-Nakuru highway.
The tanker burst into flames on impact, burning 14 other vehicles into unrecognizable shells.
In neighbouring Tanzania, at least 60 people died after a petrol tanker burst into flames after catching fire while locals attempted to siphon petrol.
In July, at least 45 people died after a fuel tanker exploded while on a busy highway in Nigeria.