Banks looted in Kenya airport fire

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP):

Officials in Kenya investigating the massive airport fire that gutted the arrival hall at Nairobi's main airport said Thursday that first responders looted electronics, a bank, and an ATM, during and after the blaze.

The officials said first responders stole electronics and money from the ATM. Another official said that police guarding the site overnight attempted to take a safe from a bank in the burned-out arrivals hall, which also houses several foreign currency exchange shops. All four officials who described the alleged looting are close to the investigation. They insisted on anonymity because they weren't authorised to share the information before the investigation is complete.

The firefighting response to Wednesday's inferno was criticised as slow and inadequate, but the officials could not definitely say the looting was carried out by firefighters. One official said there was now behind-the-scenes finger pointing taking place between the police, fire department and army. Another official said specialised police units had attempted to steal the safe overnight.