THREE NEPTUNE HOTELS RAZED IN KWALE, OCCUPANTS EVACUATED

A fire razed three hotels, Village, Palm and Paradise beach hotels, on June 28, 2016 in Kwale County. No one was injured in the incident. PHOTO | FAROUK MWABEGE | NATION MEDIA GROUP 

By FAROUK MWABEGE

Three hotels belonging to Neptune Hotel and five cottages in Diani, Kwale County, have been razed to the ground by a heavy inferno on Tuesday evening.

According to the hotels resident manager Jackson Kifoto, the fire started at around 5:30 pm in one of the bungalows at the Palm Hotel, part of the connected chain of hotels.

Mr Kifoto says the fire then spread, blown by strong winds, to the adjacent Village and Paradise Hotels. The three hotels are owned by the same company, Neptune Hotels.

“The fire spread so fast and it was so hard to put out as it moved from one hotel to another leaving us scrambling for what we could salvage,” he said.

At the time the fire started, Mr Kifoto said only Palm Hotel had occupants, numbering 53 but no one was injured in the incident.

Mr Kifoto told Nation that the makuti (grass) roofs were destroyed but occupant’s belongings were salvaged.

It took hours for the fire to be contained and by 8pm the smoke and sparks could still be seen in some hotels which had been covered by a heavy cloud of smoke.

Acting Kwale County Commissioner Mwangi Kahiro supervised the relocation of the tourists to other nearby hotels using hotel and government vehicles.

“We have provided transport to evacuate the visitors to other hotels and also ensure that they are safe from any acts of theft by people who might take advantage of the situation,” Mr Kahiro said.

Mr Kahiro dismissed claims that some of the visitors had been robbed off their properties by people who gathered outside the hotel saying none of such cases have been reported.

He promised that security will be intensified at the hotel for until Wednesday morning when they would assess the situation.

“We will stay here until when all visitors have been evacuated and then we will know the next course of action,” he said.

By the time of going to press, fire engines from the county government and Navy could be seen trying to contain the fire from spreading further.

CREDIT: NATION MEDIA