Flights land at fire-hit airport

Two international flights have landed at Kenya’s main airport after a devastating fire, officials said.

The Kenya Airports Authority said in a statement that international flights have not yet resumed officially at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in Nairobi. It has already reopened for domestic and cargo services.

The airports body said it is working to ensure a return to normal service and that it would give more updates through the day.

A small fire broke out in the arrivals hall yesterday and turned into an inferno that engulfed the arrivals hall for hours, in part because of a slow and inadequate response from a poorly equipped fire service.

Ali Ayoob, an airport engineer, called the damage “extensive” and said the airport’s electrical and mechanical systems are out of action.

Some fire engines lacked water and others had no drivers. At one stage uniformed officers lined up with buckets in hand.

The massive fire sent black smoke billowing high into Nairobi’s sky. The blaze burned for more than four hours before officials declared it contained, and flames continued to burn for two hours after that.

The fire broke out on the 15th anniversary of the bombings of the US Embassy buildings in Nairobi and Dar es Salaam, in neighbouring Tanzania, but there were no signs of terrorism in the fire. Kenya’s anti-terror police boss, Boniface Mwaniki, said he was waiting for more information before making a judgment.

No serious injuries were reported. Two people were treated for smoke inhalation from the fire.

Nairobi is the capital of East Africa’s largest economy, but it lies in a region where public sector services like police and fire units are hobbled by small budgets, corrupt money managers and outdated or no equipment.

Nairobi’s most respected paper, the Daily Nation, reported last month that Nairobi County does not have a single working fire engine. One engine, the paper said, was auctioned off in 2009 because the county had not paid an £80 repair bill. Many of the responding units to the fire were from private security firms.

One government official at the site of the fire said an initial assessment showed that a complacent response helped a small fire grow into an uncontrollable inferno. Some airport fire engines were not filled with water and others did not have personnel to drive them, he said.

President Uhuru Kenyatta visited the scene and expressed concern over disrupted travel plans. A presidential statement said the cause of the fire is being investigated and that “there is no reason to speculate at this point”.

“We reassure international and local travellers that arrangements are being put in place to restore normal operations. The airlines are working to assist stranded passengers and advise them on the measures being put in place to resume services,” said Stephen Gichuki, the director of the Kenyan Airports Authority.

The airport is the busiest in East Africa, and its closure affected flights throughout the region and beyond.