Kenya anti-terror police boss sees no terror link to airport fire

Kenya's anti-terror police boss said on Wednesday he did not believe there was a terror link to a fire that engulfed Kenya's main airport earlier in the day.            

"There is no connection with any sort of attack or terrorism," Boniface Mwaniki told Reuters.               
"We don't want to speculate, but at this stage we do not think there is any such link. Even if we are commemorating the 15th anniversary of the bomb blasts, we don't think it is terrorism," he said, referring to the anniversary of a twin attack by Islamist militants on the United States embassy in Nairobi and Dar es Salaam, in Tanzania.            

This comes after Kenya Airways said its first overseas flights to land at the Kenyan capital's fire-damaged airport would arrive as scheduled early on Thursday.                  

"Flights from London and from Bangkok will arrive in Nairobi tomorrow morning as scheduled, and will be processed through the domestic terminal," the national flag carrier said in a statement.    

A massive fire engulfed the arrivals hall at Kenya's main international airport early Wednesday, forcing East Africa's largest airport to close and the rerouting of all inbound flights.                           

Dark black smoke that billowed skyward was visible across much of Nairobi as emergency teams battled the blaze. Stranded passengers stood on sidewalks outside the airport with their luggage in hand.                   

Associated Press reporters at the scene said the fire had gutted the international arrivals hall, where passengers pass through immigration and retrieve their luggage.                   

As in many countries in East Africa, public sector services like police and fire units are hobbled by small budgets and outdated or no equipment.             

The Nairobi airport is the busiest airport in East Africa, and its closure is likely to affect flights throughout the region.      


REUTERS/AP