Firefighters in Tanzania are fighting a fire on Africa’s highest peak, Mount Kilimanjaro, according to local authorities.
The blaze on Friday night along one of most renowned hiking trails on the mountain.
Witnesses in the area reported seeing massive flames and clouds of smoke on the slopes.
It’s unclear how the fire began or exactly how much forest was destroyed. There have been no reported fatalities.
The blaze comes just two years after a seven-day blaze on Mount Kilimanjaro’s slopes severely damaged thousands of hectares of forest.
On Saturday, social media videos shows considerable flames and a blanket of smoke enveloping parts of the forest covering the mountain.
According to the AFP news agency, the provincial police chief was unable to say how large the fire was.
However, an aircraft sent to the scene of the fire could not land due to massive clouds and thick smoke, according to Kilimanjaro regional head Nurdin Babu.
As per the Tanzania National Parks Authority, upwards of 300 people were dispatched to the scene to assist in putting out the fire (Tanapa).
It said that in addition to emergency personnel such as police and firefighters, wildlife park rangers as well as tourism company employees were helping to put out the fire.
Mount Kilimanjaro is a well-known tourist attraction with tens of thousands of people climbing it each year.
