Official says military’s rescue attempts caused Nairobi mall collapse
NAIROBI, Kenya — Kenya’s military caused the massive collapse of three floors of Nairobi’s Westgate Mall during the terrorist siege in which at least 67 people died, including two Canadians, a top-ranking government official said Friday.
The account comes ahead of the release of findings from an ongoing forensic investigation into the attack and raises the possibility that the military may have killed hostages in their rescue attempt. An undisclosed number of people are reportedly buried in the rubble.
The official said autopsies will determine whether any bodies found there were killed by falling debris or had been slain earlier by the terrorists. The high-ranking police official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to divulge sensitive information.
Meanwhile, it emerged Friday that a British sales executive offered himself as a hostage to save children before being shot dead during the terrorist attack.
Mitul Shah died trying to negotiate with al-Shabaab attackers who had stormed the Westgate shopping centre, his employers said.
Shah, a sales team leader with Bidco Oil, was killed in the attack’s first wave while helping to host the children’s contest sponsored by his company on the rooftop parking lot. His funeral was held in Nairobi on Thursday.
Dipak Shah, director of the cooking oil firm, said: “He was trying to negotiate the freedom of the children in order for him to be taken as a hostage.
“Some had managed to save their lives but unfortunately he, and others, did not. It was a heroic and brave act — a true reflection of his soul. He was a wonderful person who always went out of his way, beyond the call of duty, to help others,” he said.
U.S. Ambassador Robert F. Godec said the United States is concerned about the spectre of more violence from the Somali Islamic group, al-Shabab, which claimed responsibility for the attack.
“Obviously they do pose a threat and it’s critically important, I think, that we understand al-Shabab, understand what the terrorists in that organization are up to, how they carry out attacks and really seek to frankly end the threat that the organization poses,” Godec said. “So we are working very hard with Kenya, and other countries, to do so.”
FBI agents — along with investigators from Canada, Britain and Germany — have been dispatched to investigate the crime scene. Many of the dead were foreigners.
he senior Kenyan police official also confirmed that Kenyan troops fired rocket-propelled grenades inside the mall, but would not say what was used to cause the collapse or whether it was intentional. The account at least partially backs up information given by another official on Wednesday, who said rocket-propelled grenades fired by soldiers created a gaping hole in the mall’s roof and caused the floors to collapse.
Four huge explosions rocked the mall Monday followed by dark smoke pouring from the shopping centre, the likely time that the floors collapsed. The government has not publicly explained what caused the floors to collapse.