Four elephants are feared to have died after a fire started by British Army Training Unit Kenya (Batuk) in Nanyuki spread wildly on Wednesday.
The fire engulfed the vast Lolldaiga training grounds with at least 8,000 acres being reported to have been scorched to earth black by the fire, Daily Mail reported.
The elephants, were outside the training area which is electrically fenced to keep them away from their training base.
Water bowsers and helicopters from the British Army and Kenya Army fought the fire for the better part of Thursday in a bid to stop it from spreading.
All operations involving drills at the location have been suspended as the British Army commences a probe into the fire incident.
Efforts to put out the fire completely have been launched with hundreds of Batuk troops being deployed to fight the fire.
Preliminary reports indicate that the fires started after a stove which soldiers were using to prepare a meal accidentally flipped and the fire started.
So far, no casualty has been reported save for the four jumbos.
“We can confirm there has been a fire during a UK-led exercise in Kenya and that investigations are ongoing,” UK’s Ministry of Defence said in a statement Thursday evening.
It added: “All personnel have been accounted for and now our priority is to urgently assist the local community if they have been impacted. We are putting our resources into containing the fire and are working closely with the Kenyan authorities to manage the situation.
“The exercise has been paused while conditions on the ground can be fully assessed.”
