One killed, 150 hurt in Kenya stampede after power cable blast

NAIROBI, Kenya — A student was killed and 150 more were hurt in a stampede on Sunday, April 12, at a Kenyan university campus after a pre-dawn electrical blast sparked fears of a new Islamist attack.

Some panicked students threw themselves out of buildings from as high as the fifth floor at the University of Nairobi campus, vice-chancellor Peter Mbithi told Agence France-Press (AFP).

The country is on edge after the April 2 raid by Somalia’s Shebab insurgents on Garissa university that killed 148 people, almost all of them students.

It was the deadliest attack on Kenyan soil since the 1998 US embassy bombing in Nairobi.

Education Minister Jacob Kaimenyi said Sunday’s explosion occurred at around 4 am while students were sleeping on the university’s Kikuyu campus about 20 kilometers (12 miles) west of the capital.

“A power cable blew up outside the student hostel. The hostel itself was not affected, but the students thought it was an attack,” said Mbithi.

“Some students jumped out,” of buildings and “there was also a stampede”, said Mbithi.

“One student died after jumping from the fifth floor,” he added.

About 150 were injured, mostly lightly, while 20 remain in hospital for treatment. — Agence France-Presse/Rappler.com