NAIROBI – Security officers continued to comb Nairobi's Westgate Mall on Wednesday for any sign of civilian survivors, attackers or explosives, the latter of which terrorists had reportedly planted in and around the building.
President Uhuru Kenyatta said Tuesday that a number of people, mostly civilians, were feared to be still trapped after three of the mall's floors had collapsed.
Security officers and rescue workers on Wednesday were still trying to retrieve any remaining bodies and check for survivors.
Meanwhile, conflicting information emerged today as to exactly what had caused the floors to collapse, with some security sources attributing it to explosives planted by the attackers.
But other unconfirmed reports suggested that an army tank used to break into a bulletproof CCTV cubicle – in which the attackers had hid – had struck a loadbearing column, causing the floors to collapse.
The attackers, who appear to have known the building well, had hid in the CCTV room after being cornered by Kenyan security forces.
Kenyatta confirmed late Tuesday that the Westgate Mall attack had left 61 civilians and six security officers dead, going on to declare three days of national mourning.
Five of the attackers were shot dead by security forces during the operation, the president said, while 11 others were in custody after having been arrested.
Shortly before noon on Saturday, heavily-armed attackers entered the Westgate Mall, located near Nairobi's Central Business District.
They shot at guards manning an adjacent car park before storming the building, both through the main entrance and via an underground opening.
Somalia's Al-Shabaab militant group has claimed responsibility for the attack, describing it as a response to Kenyan military intervention in violence-prone Somalia.
By William Oloo
englishnews@aa.com.tr
