Several Passengers Injured During Security Drill at JKIA

Several people including airport employees and passengers sustained injuries during a security drill carried out at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) on Thursday.

In a statement, Kenya Airports Authority (KAA) says the drill involved an anonymous person making a call to the agency's call centre to report that an explosion was about to happen at JKIA.

30 minutes after the call, an explosive went off at JKIA's Terminal 2, causing airport staffers and travelers to run for safety, KAA further explains.

“An anonymous caller calls the (PABX) at around 10.15 A.M informing them that an explosive has been planted at M-Station adjacent to the police station and is expected to go off anytime and hanged up. At 10.45 A.M an explosion went off at Terminal 2 injuring Airport workers on duty and passengers,” says KAA.

The airports authority explains that the full-scale security drill is a mandatory exercise conducted at all airports after every three years to test their level of disaster preparedness and security standards.

“It took approximately 2 months to prepare for the exercise and involved the participation of all airport agencies and stakeholders,” says KAA adding that it  took two months to organise the operation.

It's main aim is to establish the effectiveness of communication, coordination and command systems.