Firefighters tackle blaze on Tanzania’s Mount Kilimanjaro
A fire has broken out on the slopes of Tanzania’s famous Mount Kilimanjaro, local officials have said, with police and local people helping firefighters tackle the blaze.
The fire was burning near the camp Karanga site used by climbers ascending the mountain, at about 4,000 metres altitude on the south side of mountain.
Mount Kilimanjaro, situated in the north-east of the country, is Africa’s highest summit at 5,895 metres (19,340ft).
Officials have not yet established how the fire started, but it comes two years after a blaze raged for a week in October 2020 across 95 sq km (37 sq miles).
The fire started on Friday evening and was spread by strong winds during the night, said regional officials. They could not yet say how much ground it covered.
A plane transporting local officials and leading members of the Tanzania National Parks Authority (TANAPA) for a visit to evaluate the situation was unable to land on Saturday.
“Large clouds and the smoke prevented us from reaching the fire zone,” the prefect of Kilimanjaro, Nurdin Babu, told journalists. “We will try again when the situation improves.”
The chief of the region’s police, Yahaya Mdogo, said they were focusing on getting the fire under control and could not yet say how big it was or what impact it was having on the population.
Video posted on social media appeared to show the flames devouring vegetation and giving off thick clouds of grey smoke. Three hundred people, including police, firefighters, university students and staff from tour operators, were working hard to bring the blaze under control, Tanzania National Parks Authority said in a statement.
Mount Kilimanjaro, with its snowcapped peak, is known around the world. The forests surrounding it form part of Kilimanjaro National Parks, which is registered by Unesco as a world heritage site, a habitat for many endangered species.