In our regret at having to recount another fatality that is not entirely unexpected on the Kenyan coast where too many elements contribute to the possibility of fires every year that can wipe out a hotel structure, as well as private homes and premises, in a matter of minutes, we nevertheless point out the solidarity among operators in the tourism sector and particularly among Italians who did not hesitate, yesterday afternoon after the devastating fire that destroyed the Barracuda Inn Resort, to make themselves available to rehouse the guests of the uninhabitable structure in their resorts, despite having few free rooms and having to organise themselves in a hurry to accommodate them in 'full board'.

In addition to Seven Island, where owner Roberto Lenzi made immediate efforts to offer his 17 vacant rooms to Alpitour guests displaced by the Barracuda, the Jacaranda also made itself immediately available, organising a bus that transported tourists and luggage to its structure, which will welcome other Italians for the duration of their holiday, as general manager Daniele Tiritò confirmed to Malindikenya.net.
The Garoda resort also immediately came to the rescue and aid of Barracuda guests, ready to welcome them before they found accommodation in the other two resorts, and so other hotels and resorts in Watamu offered their assistance.

The work of the Honorary Consulate in Malindi and its assistants was also excellent, both in comforting and assisting their compatriots, and in directing and facilitating the hospitalisation of the three tourists (two women and a man) who suffered serious burns. One of the two women was then transported to Mombasa to receive proper treatment. The major shortcomings are other and well known, from the dangerous roofs of makuti to the lack of a fire station in Watamu, from the precariousness of the electrical installations to the endemic general disorganisation. By now in many ways Watamu, the 'pearl of the Indian Ocean' as it has been dubbed, is an important destination for tourism, not only Italian. There is a need for adequate services and precautions, not the usual institutional chatter.