12 specialists to probe Dar airport blaze
Works, Transport and Communications minister Makame Mbarawa (arms akimbo) inspects a passenger luggage room that was burnt on Thursday night at the Julius Nyerere International Airport’s Terminal II. Right is JNIA manager Paul Rwegasha. PHOTO|MAELEZO
What you need to know:
- The fire erupted at 2312 hours, sending people who were around in panic.
Dar es Salaam. The Minister of Works, Transport and Communications, Prof Makame Mbarawa, has formed a team to investigate the cause of fire which gutted part of Terminal 2 building at the Julius Nyerere International Airport (JNIA) on Thursday night.
The fire erupted at 2312 hours, sending people who were around in panic. The terminal was shut down overnight but operations resumed in the morning. Passengers who travelled on that night were asked to use Terminal 1 building instead.
Speaking to journalists yesterday after inspecting the damage caused by the fire, Prof Mbarawa allayed fears by travellers that the accident might delay their journeys.
He said, a team of 12 specialists under the chairmanship of Mr Joseph Nyahende from the Tanzania Airports Authority (TAA) will investigate the fire and come up with answers over its cause. The team has been given one month to do the work.
“I believe the team will come up with information which will enable us to prevent similar accidents in the future,” said Prof Mbarawa, stressing that prevention of such disasters was paramount.
He said, although the Fire and Rescue Services personnel reacted promptly, the focus should be prevention of fire in all airports.
“A room used to store luggage was the most affected by the fire and all luggage in the room were gutted,” he said, adding that they would also assess to establish the value of the destroyed cargo. He said, there were no human casualties in the accident.
