In a sad incident early Sunday morning, two people lost their lives and several others got minor injuries when a big fire broke out at Gikomba Market in Nairobi.

This market is one of the largest trading hubs in the country, and the blaze destroyed many business stalls, leaving traders with massive losses worth millions of shillings.

The Nairobi City County Government Chief Officer for Disaster and Risk Management, Bramwell Simiyu, confirmed the deaths of one adult male and one adult female, though they had not been identified by evening.Emergency teams from the county and Kenya Red Cross helped the injured at the scene.Firefighting efforts faced challenges as rowdy youths attacked responders, even stoning a National Youth Service fire engine and forcing it away.Four county firefighters were also hurt during the operation.Nairobi City Water and Sewerage Company provided water bowsers to support the response.

Governor Sakaja assured traders that no one would use the fire to displace them from their spaces, and they would be allowed to rebuild while modernising the market.Gikomba has seen many fires before due to poor infrastructure and safety issues.A multi-agency team is now investigating the cause of the fire, and security has been increased in the area.

This tragedy affects thousands of families who depend on the market for their daily income, coming at a time when traders were trying to recover from past setbacks.