DAR ES SALAAM, Oct 24 (NNN-IRIN) – Tanzanian authorities mobilised more than 600 firefighters, to put out a fire on Mount Kilimanjaro, Africa’s highest mountain, an official said.
Nurdin Babu, the Kilimanjaro regional commissioner, said that, the firefighters have been drawn from the Tanzania Fire and Rescue Force, the Tanzania National Parks, police, scouts, members of the militia and the private sector.
The fire broke out on Friday night, at about 4,000 metres altitude, on the south side of the mountain and quickly spread due to strong winds, said Babu.
“We are hoping that the fire will be contained by tonight, by the 600-plus strong team of firefighters,” he said, adding, the cause of the fire and the damage were yet to be established.
He said, initially there were plans to request the Tanzania People’s Defence Forces (TPDF) to help in fighting the fire but the plans were dropped after reports indicated that there was good progress in putting out the fire.
On Saturday afternoon, Babu said, he flew over the mountain with a team of experts for aerial survey to assess damage caused by the fire, but the mission was cut short due to heavy smoke and bad weather.
“We made another attempt on Saturday night and managed to see affected areas,” he said, adding that, there were no reported casualties.
In Oct, 2020, a fire broke out on the mountain and destroyed 95.5 square kilometres of vegetation and 12 huts and solar equipment used by tourists climbing the mountain.
Mount Kilimanjaro, with its snow-capped peak with about 5,895 metres above sea level, is one of Tanzania’s leading tourist destinations.
Roughly 50,000 trekkers from across the world attempt to reach the summit of the mountain annually.– NNN-IRIN
