NAIROBI, July 8 (Xinhua) -- At least nine people were killed in an early morning fire on Saturday in Nairobi, Kenyan police said.

    The fire broke out at around 8 o'clock local time Saturday morning, killing at least nine people, Kenyan police officer Francis Kuria told Xinhua at the site.

    Witnesses said the fire started from a chemical factory named Barot Agencies Limited in southeast of the city, and the cause was an explosion triggered by a faulty electrical circuit.

    Burnt bodies were seen at one of the gates of the two-story building. The factory owners locked the victims inside the building after the explosion, saying that they wanted to prevent people from stealing things, said some witnesses at the site.

    So far the fire was under control and the police said death toll could rise because they have not been able to account for all of the 36 people who were in the building when the explosion occurred. Meanwhile investigations are underway. Enditem