Two Kenya Wildlife Service rangers died on February 7 on their way to a fire fighting mission in the Aberdare National Park.
The fire broke out on February 6 and has been ravaging the mountain for days now, consuming in excess of 40,000 acres of the national park.
Acting Director general Erustus Kanga broke the news about the death of the rangers when he visited the area on February 13 to assess the firefighting operations.
"The fires have worsened as a result of the prevailing drought and high-altitude winds, which have desiccated the Moorland. The DG expressed his condolences to the Park as they lost two of their staff during the firefighting operations," KWS said in a statement.
On February 17, KWS Assistant Director of Mountain Conservation Bakari Mungumi said the deceased rangers died on the morning of February 7 after they vehicle crashed.
"We wanted to put out the fire early, but by bad lack our vehicle crashed and rolled and by bad lack two of our colleagues died," he said.
Mungumi said the dead officers included a ranger and a guard.
During his visit to the park, Kanga thanked and commended the community who joined in the exercise as well as Rhino Ark for their support with fire fighting tools and facilitation of the teams.
In early February 2022, more than 550 hectares of the Aberdare forest were destroyed by a fire that started on the night of February 5.
The fire raged for two days before it was extinguished.
Story was updated Feb 17
