Owners of the Diani Rift Hotel in Kwale County are counting losses after a fire broke out at the hotel on Sunday, September 8.
Photos of the incident, seen by Kenyans.co.ke, revealed that a section of the hotel was extensively damaged due to the fire outbreak.
Kwale County Fire Department responded swiftly to try to contain the fire, whose cause is yet to be established.
Kenya Red Cross, which sent firefighters to the hotel, confirmed the incident noting that its staff members were deployed to the establishment.
"Kwale County Fire Department and the Kenya Red Cross are currently responding to a fire incident at Diani Reef Hotel in Kwale County," read a statement from Kenya Red Cross.
The Diani Reef Hotel hotel is one of the most popular establishment on the Kenyan Coastline and is known to attract high-end tourists.
In 2023, one of the hotel's senior workers, Bobby Kamani, was among 157 national heroes recognised by the government for his philanthropy in Kwale County.
A similar hotel incident was reported in February 2023 where a fire engulfed three resorts in Watamu, destroying property worth millions. The fire was reportedly caused by an electric fault.
This is the third major fire incident in the country in less than a week. It came hours after a fire razed down a dormitory in Isiolo Girls' Secondary School, leaving three injured.
Three days earlier, a fire at Hillside Endarasha Academy claimed the lives of 21 pupils who were sleeping in the affected dormitory. The President subsequently declared three days of national mourning in honour of the deceased.
The latest fire incident begs the question of how well-prepared institutions in the country are in the event of a fire outbreak.
Incidentally, Mombasa Governor Abdulswamad Nassir on Saturday, September 7, ordered a thorough fire and safety inspection of all education institutions in the county, starting Monday.
According to the governor, the exercise is aimed at identifying fire safety gaps in the institutions and ensuring schools adhere to fire safety regulations.
