Scene at the Paradise Hotel

The vehicle drove its way into the hotel lobby

By Noel Mwakugu BBC, Paradise Hotel, Mombasa

I am at the Mombasa Paradise Hotel now. It has been completely destroyed.

There is a lot of debris. There are a lot of local police here - including Kenya's paramilitary forces who have been combing the area.

Israeli security forces are also here.

The hotel, which is situated some 25km north of Mombasa on the main road to Malindi lies right on the sea front. It is a hot sunny morning but there is no-one enjoying the beaches.

The hotel had about 200 rooms. Some hours after the blast, smoke is still rising from the building.

When I got here I was able to count eight dead bodies strewn about the hotel.

All the hotel guests have been moved to neighbouring hotels.

Blast

A barman told me that at about 0830 Kenya time (0530 GMT), he saw a four-wheel drive vehicle force its way through the gates of the hotel and ram into the hotel reception.

This was a few minutes after about 60 Israeli tourists had begun checking into the hotel.

It was just after this that there was an explosion.

Hotel manager Saidi Mushauri told me he was down on the beach when the blast happened at the reception area.

Fire and smoke was billowing from the hotel and there was lots of noise.

Because of all the confusion he said he was unable to get access to the hotel from the beach and had to find an alternative route to get nearer.

When he got there he took seven people to hospital with serious wounds - two went straight into intensive care.

Those injured are a mixture of Kenyan staff at the hotel - some of whom may have been traditional dancers - and some of the tourists who were just checking in to the hotel at the time.

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