A fierce blaze has broken out on Tanzania’s famous Mount Kilimanjaro, where locals and park rangers have joined firefighters to help bring the fire under control.

The cause of of the fire, near the Karanga Camp almost 4,000m above sea level, is still unknown.

It broke out on Friday night on the south side of the mountain, along one of its most popular climbing routes.

Videos show plumes of thick dark smoke billowing on the horizon behind a camp of tents, and fierce red flames licking the mountainside.

Abraham Moshi, who runs local tour guide company Exuberant Kilimanjaro Safaris, said he first saw the fire on Friday evening from his home in Moshi, a town that lies south of the mountain.

“We were having a BBQ outside. We saw big huge flames coming from the mountainside. We weren’t sure what it was at first,” he told Sky News.

“We started taking videos but no one knew what it was until Saturday, [when] it was reported that there was a big fire.”

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The fire is ongoing and some of his staff have been helping officials fight the fire, who say it is burning in shrubs near but not on the footpaths or campsites nearby, he added.

“Right now is dry season, we’re still pretty much in dry season. Rains are supposed to start now into November, but we still haven’t received rain yet. It’s pretty much dry and windy – that could affect the fire,” he warned.

Soaring to 5,895 meters above sea level, Mount Kilimanjaro, situated in the north-east of the country, is Africa’s highest summit.

Officials have not yet determined how the fire started. In October 2020 a blaze raged across some 37 square miles for more than a week.

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