Duh! Aibu Kubwa sana kwa Kenya na Afrika Kwa Ujumla. Kumetokea moto ambayo imetekea jengo lote la wanaowasili huko Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (Embakasi Airport). Yaani hawakuwa na Zimamoto ya Kutosha ya Kuzima Moto Uwanja wa Ndege! Sasa jengo lote la wanaowasili umekuwa majivu matupu! Je, Ndege ingeanguka huko? Uwanja wa Ndege wa Nairobi ndo kubwa kuliko zote barani Afrika! Halafu tunataka kuvutia watalii!
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| International Arrival Lounge Before the Fire - Unknown Tourist Photo |
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| We can't believe our eyes! |
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| Stranded Tourists |
Kutoka
Yahoo News:
NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) -- A massive fire destroyed the arrivals hall at
Kenya's main international airport early Wednesday, forcing the closure
of East Africa's largest airport and the rerouting of all inbound
flights.
No injuries were reported, said Michael Kamau, the cabinet secretary for transport and infrastructure.
Dark black smoke that shot skyward was visible across much of
Nairobi as emergency teams battled the blaze. Passengers reported a slow
response by the under-resourced fire brigade, and the blaze raged for
four hours before being contained.
The fire broke out on the 15th anniversary of the U.S. Embassy
bombings in Nairobi and neighboring Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, but there
were no immediate signs of terrorism. Kenya's anti-terror police boss,
Boniface Mwaniki, told The Associated Press that he was waiting for the
fire to be put out so that he could inspect the scene before making a
judgment.
"It was huge, the smoke billowing, and it didn't seem to be
stopping," said Barry Fisher, who had hoped to fly to Ethiopia on
Wednesday morning.
The fire gutted the international arrivals hall, where
passengers pass through immigration and retrieve their luggage. The
Kenya Airports Authority closed Jomo Kenyatta International Airport
until further notice.
Kamau said the fire began at 5 a.m. in the immigration section
of the arrivals hall. Inbound flights were diverted to the coastal city
of Mombasa.
As in many countries in East Africa, public sector services like
police and fire units are hobbled by small budgets and outdated or no
equipment. Many of the responding units to Wednesday's fire were from
private security firms.
A British passenger, Martyn Collbeck, said he was surprised that
the airport wasn't shut sooner so that emergency vehicles could
respond.
"When I arrived there were one or two fire engines parked
outside the international arrivals. It spread very fast," said Collbeck,
who had been scheduled to fly back to London on an early morning KLM
flight. "There were a couple of explosions which I think were a couple
of gas canisters."
"I would have expected more fire engines to respond faster," he added.
There may not have been fire engines available to respond. The
country's largest newspaper, The Daily Nation, reported last month that
Nairobi County doesn't have a single working fire engine, and that three
fire engines were auctioned off in 2009 because the county hadn't paid a
$1,000 repair bill.
"It is a disgrace of biblical proportions that the entire
Nairobi County does not have a public fire engine in working condition,"
the paper wrote in an editorial last month. "When (government leaders)
were debating their budgets, they did not deem it fit to set aside money
either to buy new ones or repair the old ones. But they did set aside
money to build mansions for governors, (buy) big vehicles for county
executives and other needs without a direct benefit to Kenyans."
The paper said the collapse of the fire department means
responses to disasters is in the hands of private companies and the
military.
The Nairobi airport is the busiest airport in East Africa, and its closure is likely to affect flights throughout the region.
Fisher, a trade specialist who lives in Nairobi, described the scene as chaotic.
"There was no one stopping any traffic going to the road to the
airport," he said. "A number of fire trucks and ambulances were trying
to negotiate their way through the lane. ... They were trying to weave
their way through a solid two lanes of cars."
