20th Century building burns

A fire broke out at 20th Century building on Mama Ngina Street, Nairobi, on Monday afternoon.

The fire is said to have consumed the ground floor of the building that houses Flush Drycleaners and IMAX theatre on its first floor among other businesses.

Firefighters have reportedly contained the fire that attracted hundreds of curious onlookers along the Mama Ngina Street.

Pictures from social media showed property being razed.

Three people, including an expectant woman, were injured in the incident.

The laundry and dry cleaning services are located on the ground floor of the structure.

Clothes were destroyed in the fire that broke out at about midday.

Witnesses said they heard a loud bang and then smoke billowed out.

Among those injured was a machine operator who was in the laundry room, a witness said. A third injured person was rescued from the first floor after being chocked with fumes.

Firefighters from the County rushed to the scene and managed to contain the fire as tenants evacuated.

The building has tens of tenants with different businesses.

Businesses along the street rushed to close down as the fire engines arrived. Smoke billowed from the building for a short while before the fire was contained.

Nairobi police boss Philip Ndolo said they had not established the cause of the incident.

He added that experts are investigating.