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Passengers left stranded and flights diverted after huge fire closes Kenya's main international airport

Jomo Kenyatta International Airport has been closed until further notice
Billowing smoke can be seen from miles away
It is believed the fire has gutted the international arrivals area

Kenya's main international airport has been closed as firefighters tackle a large blaze in the arrivals area.
Inbound flights have been rerouted to other Kenyan airports while the fire continues to burn at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in Nairobi.

Eyewitnesses say the billowing smoke can be seen from miles away, and stranded passengers are standing on pavements outside the airport holding their luggage.
A British passenger, Martyn Collbeck, said he was surprised that the airport wasn't shut down sooner so that emergency vehicles could respond.

"It was huge, the smoke billowing, and it didn't seem to be stopping," said Barry Fisher, who had hoped to fly to Ethiopia but was turned away.

A fire has broken out at the main international airport in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi.

The Kenya Airports Authority said that the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport has been closed until further notice so that emergency teams can tackle the fire.

Billowing smoke could be seen from miles away.

NAIROBI - A "massive" fire shut down Nairobi's international airport Wednesday with flights diverted to regional cities, officials said, as firefighters struggled to put out the blaze in east Africa's most important transport hub.

"There is a serious fire at JKIA (Jomo Kenyatta International Airport), but we are doing everything possible to avert a crisis," said Mutea Iringo, a senior official at the interior and national coordination ministry.

Firefighters were tackling the blaze but were "running dangerously low on water", the interior ministry said in an appeal to traffic to give way to trucks ferrying water to the airport.

"Apart from emergency landings, all flights into and out of JKIA have been cancelled ... (the) airport has been shut down," added Iringo.

The fire broke out shortly before dawn.

There were no initial reports of casualties, but Iringo said the fire was "massive", adding that the arrivals and immigration sections were "totally damaged".

Flights were being diverted to other airports, including the port city of Mombasa, the interior ministry added.

Images on Kenyan media showed flames rising high in the sky and billowing clouds of black smoke out of the main arrivals and departures terminal, with dozens of police and fire trucks at the scene.

The airport serves as a regional hub for east Africa, with many long-distance international flights landing there to connect to countries across the region.


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