One dead after oil spill during pipeline maintenance in Kisumu

One person has died and three others have been injured after a petroleum product spilled during maintenance work on a pipeline in Kisumu County.

The incident happened on Wednesday afternoon at Kibigori in Muhoroni Subcounty, when technicians from the Kenya Pipeline Company (KPC) were installing a leak detection system inside a pipeline chamber.

A valve reportedly failed during the operation, causing the spillage of the petroleum product, identified as Super petrol.

Three KPC workers were taken to the Aga Khan Hospital in Kisumu for treatment. They were later identified as Albert Sasaka, 56, George Odede, 35, and Peter Onyango, 42.

A fourth worker, 30-year-old KPC casual worker Julius Obonyo Adie, was initially reported to be trapped inside the chamber.

His body was later recovered and taken to the Jaramogi Oginga Odinga Teaching and Referral Hospital in Kisumu after the scene was examined by crime scene investigators.

Rescue teams from KPC’s Eldoret emergency response unit arrived at the scene, while firefighters and police also took part in the response.

Police cordoned off the area and placed the site under round-the-clock surveillance as a precaution.

Authorities have warned residents living nearby to keep away from the affected area and avoid lighting fires, amid concerns that the spilled fuel could pose a fire and environmental risk.

There were also concerns that the petroleum product could reach a nearby tributary of the River Nyando. An excavator was requested to help construct a containment barrier around the spill.

Senior KPC officials, led by the company’s acting director and chief executive, Pius Mwendwa, visited the site alongside senior police officers and other security officials.

KPC has said it will provide food rations to 23 households affected by the incident while efforts to contain the spill continue.

The cause of the valve failure has not yet been established.