Three tourists killed on Mt Kilimanjaro
Three tourists were killed today when rocks slid down Mount Kilimanjaro and crashed into climbers sleeping in tents before their final ascent up Africa’s highest mountain.
An unknown number of Tanzanian guides were also killed, officials said.
A sudden change in weather at Kibo peak dislodged the rocks, Tanzania National Parks head Gerald Digurube said.
Five other tourists were seriously injured, and were taken to Kilimanjaro Medical Centre for treatment, Digurube said.
Thomas Kimaro, owner of Alpine Tours, which organises trips to Kilimanjaro, said several guides were among those killed and wounded in the tour’s group, but he could not say how many.
Digurube said there had been several groups on the mountain at the time, which were organised by various tour operators and set out for the climb on Saturday.
Kilimanjaro park staff rescued an unspecified number of uninjured people, he said.
No information on the tourists’ nationalities was immediately available.
There were 20-30 tourists in the Alpine Tours group, Kimaro said. They had taken the most difficult and dangerous route to Kibo peak.
“The route needs control, but there are many tourists who seek a challenging ascent and they prefer this route,” Kimaro said.
Global warming has melted some of Mount Kilimanjaro’s glaciers, Kimaro said, causing the ice to retreat, which had loosened rocks it once held in place.
