A fire at Nairobi's Gikomba market killed 15 people yesterday, a government official said, less than a year after a blaze to destroyed much of the Kenyan capital's largest open-air market. "We have lost 15 people from this tragedy this morning," said regional coordinator Kangethe Thuku. "We're yet to establish the cause of this fire," he said, which is believed to have started in a timber yard.

The pre-dawn blaze left over 70 people injured and destroyed many of the market's wood and tarp stalls where second-hand clothes, shoes and vegetables are sold on the eastern side of the city. A police officer at the scene said emergency services continued to search the area.