In the second Kenya incident, which turned out to be far worse than the above near-miss, a truck packed with explosives plowed into the lobby of Mombasa's Paradise Hotel, causing a fire and many casualties. The number of deaths is reported at 9, including three Israelis and six Kenyans. Foreign Minister Netanyahu said that two children are among the Israeli dead, and some 15 Israelis are wounded.
The Israeli-owned hotel is a popular resort for Israeli tourists, and the lobby was packed at the time of the attack with Israelis who had just arrived and were checking in. An eyewitness told Israel Radio that local emergency personnel took over two hours to arrive to treat the wounded. Israel dispatched a plane carrying emergency medical personnel and equipment to Kenya; other planes were sent to return the wounded to Israel, where hospitals are preparing to accept them. Tourism Minister Rabbi Yitzchak Levy has suspended all tourist flights from Israel to Kenya.
Yehuda Levinger, a Zaka volunteer on a business trip to Nairobi, Kenya, flew to Mombassa as soon as he heard about the attack. He led the identification efforts at the scene, and was able to order the necessary equipment to be dispatched on the emergency government flight from Israel. Israel's Zaka volunteers are often first on the scene of a terror attack, ensuring a proper burial for victims in accordance with Jewish law and offering emergency medical treatment when necessary.
One frightened Israeli woman who was in the Paradise Hotel lobby at the time of the attack recounted, "We had just arrived, and were looking around at how beautiful it was, happy that we had run away from all the problems, and now everything would be nice and quiet for a week - and then just as the bellboy started taking our luggage, all of a sudden there was an explosion. We just started running..." The fact that most of the guests had managed to leave the lobby only minutes earlier prevented an even larger calamity.
The Israeli-owned hotel is a popular resort for Israeli tourists, and the lobby was packed at the time of the attack with Israelis who had just arrived and were checking in. An eyewitness told Israel Radio that local emergency personnel took over two hours to arrive to treat the wounded. Israel dispatched a plane carrying emergency medical personnel and equipment to Kenya; other planes were sent to return the wounded to Israel, where hospitals are preparing to accept them. Tourism Minister Rabbi Yitzchak Levy has suspended all tourist flights from Israel to Kenya.
Yehuda Levinger, a Zaka volunteer on a business trip to Nairobi, Kenya, flew to Mombassa as soon as he heard about the attack. He led the identification efforts at the scene, and was able to order the necessary equipment to be dispatched on the emergency government flight from Israel. Israel's Zaka volunteers are often first on the scene of a terror attack, ensuring a proper burial for victims in accordance with Jewish law and offering emergency medical treatment when necessary.
One frightened Israeli woman who was in the Paradise Hotel lobby at the time of the attack recounted, "We had just arrived, and were looking around at how beautiful it was, happy that we had run away from all the problems, and now everything would be nice and quiet for a week - and then just as the bellboy started taking our luggage, all of a sudden there was an explosion. We just started running..." The fact that most of the guests had managed to leave the lobby only minutes earlier prevented an even larger calamity.