Explosion in Nairobi: 1 dead, injures over 30

One person has been confirmed dead and several seriously injured following an explosion at the city centre in Nairobi this morning.

The explosion went off shortly after 0800 (0500 GMT) at the City Gate Restaurant near the Ambassadeur Hotel between Tom Mboya Street and Moi Avenue.

Shop windows nearby were shattered and the area has now been cordoned off as anti-terrorist police with sniffer dogs comb the scene for further explosives.

After the blast, people just started screaming and running all over Johnson Nyaga, eyewitness

The spot is usually busy with huge traffic as morning commuters change buses and rush to work. A junction outside the restaurant is one of the key picking and dropping points for buses in the city.

A local media photojournalist, William Oeri, reported seeing at least two body parts and a ripped off leg at the scene.

“Personal items are strewn all over the place,” he said.

Robert Maritim said he had been having his shoes shined near the blast and believed the dead man was a street sweeper.

Kenyatta National Hospital confirmed receiving 31 victims of the blast, six of them with serious injuries, being reported as in critical condition.

Security teams rushed to the area and cordoned off the scene as others searched the debris for evidence.

Some witnesses have claimed that the blast was triggered by a man who seemed to have been waiting for a bus.

"It was a very loud explosion. I thought it was a tyre burst but it was louder than that," Lang'at Justice, a 20-year-old student who witnessed the explosion, told Reuters near the chaotic scene.

According to the BBC, al-Qaeda is claiming responsibility for the attack, however this claim was not reported in either the local reports nor by the Aljazeera network. A senior policeman said that it is suspected that the attacker may have been a suicide bomber, but that has not been confirmed.

The blast came after weeks of violence by a criminal society called the Mungiki, which beheads its enemies. At least 30 people were killed by police last week in raids on a Nairobi slum which is a stronghold of the gang. Some speculate that this may have been an attack in response to recent raids.