PICTURE: Parishioners of Holy Trinity-Kileleshwa, St Austin and Consolata shrine serve food and refreshments to rescue teams at the 14 Riverside drive on 16th January 2019.
UPDATES AND HUMANITARIAN RESPONSE – DUSIT D2 HOTEL TERRORIST ATTACK
Country - Kenya
Location: Dusit Hotel, 14 Riverside Drive, Westlands, Nairobi .
January 15, 2019: Suspected Terrorists’ car arrives at the Chiromo/14 Riverside Drive junction around 2.30pm and is parked at the entrance for 30 minutes. The Hotel CCTV captured them in a silver 5-seater hatchback. They walked towards security officers at the hotel’s gate, where they threw explosives at the security agents. Three vehicles on fire were then spotted at the scene.
There were reports of gunfire and explosions in the vicinity of the Dusit 2 Hotel, in the Westlands neighbourhood of Nairobi between 3:48PM and 3:58PM.
The Directorate of Criminal Investigations arrived at the scene at around 4PM, by this time, social media was awash with claims of occupants trapped in dusitD2 alleging that the facility is under attack. The armed law enforcement agents arrived at the facility shortly after.
Between 4:20PM and 4:50 PM, rescue mission by the Recce squad, Kenya Airforce, firefighters and the Kenya Red Cross begun, with ambulances being spotted ferrying the casualties to various city hospitals.
January 16, 2019: There was gunfire on the 7th floor of Dusit D2 Hotel on Riverside drive at 6am, raising fears that terrorists could still be in the building holding people hostage. The Government of Kenya has advised that all terrorists involved in the Dusit2 Hotel attack have been neutralized. Follow-on security operations are continuing in the Dusit2 Hotel and its vicinity. Addressing the nation on Wednesday, Uhuru said the security operation ended at about 9.30am.
Impact of the Attack
January 16, 2019: The Kenya Red Cross and hospitals in Nairobi have made a fresh appeal for blood donations following the 14 Riverside attack in Nairobi. This comes after President Uhuru Kenyatta, on 16th January, confirmed that 14 people were killed during the siege, but another 700 rescued. Reports also indicate that over 30 people suffered serious injuries and were admitted to various hospitals.
Following the earlier briefing by H.E the president, the office of the Inspector General National Police service confirmed the final tally as follows:
• Additional six bodies were found at the scene. One Police Officer succumbed to his injuries while undergoing treatment.
• 28 persons were admitted in various hospitals in Nairobi.
• 5 terrorists were eliminated.
• 16 Kenyan Nationals, 1 Briton, 1 American and 3 persons of African descent lost their lives to the attack.
Humanitarian Needs:
Dr. Boyanu Mugeni of Avenue Hospital confirmed that the facility received a total of 22 victims of the attack since Tuesday evening. She said the institution and the disaster management team have set up a psychological support centre within to help the victims and their families. Other hospitals receiving patients were M.P. Shah, Aga Khan & Kenyatta Hospitals.
Blood donations are ongoing at the following venues: Avenue, M.P. Shah, Aga Khan & Kenyatta Hospitals, as well as August 7th Memorial Park.
Nairobi: Avenue Hospital (First Parklands Avenue), Aga Khan Hospital, Bomb Blast Memorial Park (August 7th Memorial Park), Kenyatta National Hospital and MP Shah Hospital
Mombasa: Kenya Red cross offices on Moi Avenue, opposite University of Nairobi’s Mombasa campus
Kisumu: Regional Blood Transfusion centre, Kisumu.
Humanitarian Assistance by the Catholic Church.
Caritas Kenya, in solidarity with the local parishes, visited the site in the morning of Wednesday and consoled the relatives of those affected by the attack. The local parishes located near the scene of the incident, namely Holy Trinity-Kileleshwa, St. Austin and Consolata Shrine, mobilized Christians to provide food, soft drinks and water to the rescue teams. Parish teams served breakfast and lunch to the rescue teams on Wednesday 16th January 2018.
