Scores Dead In Kenya Oil Blaze

An oil spill from a crashed truck erupted into flames Saturday in Kenya, killing as many as 111 people who were trying to scoop up free fuel, officials said.

Abbas Gullet, secretary general of the Kenyan Red Cross, says "more than 50" people died after a crowd gathered around the crash in search of free fuel. Reuters is reporting 111 dead: 91 at the scene and another 20 taken to a local mortuary, according to a provincial police commissioner.

The crash was in Molo, several hours outside the capital, Nairobi.

Local newspapers have criticized the government for poor safety.

On Wednesday, a massive fire swept through a supermarket in downtown Nairobi, killing at least 25 people.

After the supermarket blaze, the Daily Nation said Nairobi's 3 million people are served by just one fire station situated close to a traffic-choked business district.

"Ours is a modern city with an 18th-century firefighting infrastructure," the newspaper said in an editorial.