REBUILDING has begun on the kitchen at the Namib Naukluft Lodge near Sossusvlei in Namibia, after it was severely (80%) damaged in a fire, following a gas explosion last Friday morning.
A fully operational field kitchen has been erected in a tent, until the refurbished kitchen reopens by the end of April/beginning of May.
Owner Barbara Sturms told Travel Now that it is still not known what caused the explosion although three gas bottles exploded, one after the other, when empty bottles were being exchanged. She suspects that one of the bottles had been damaged.
No guests were involved in the incident, those staying at the lodge being out on an excursion to Sossusvlei. Upon their return, they were relocated to a nearby guest farm. Staff members also escaped unhurt, except for the lodge management couple - Maryna Coetzee and Deon van den Bergh - who both sustained third degree burns when they tried to extinguish the fire.
"Fortunately, only the kitchen and the laundry room were damaged from the blast and subsequent fire as one of the bottles hit a water tank, releasing 100 litres of water to douse the flames," explains Sturms.
She says the rooms and the dining area were not at all affected and the lounge and reception area had only a few shattered windows after the explosion.
Electricity was restored on Saturday afternoon, thanks to a "prompt response" by the electrician, says Sturms and after the clean-up operations over the weekend, guests were transferred back to the lodge on Saturday evening.
"No guests were harmed or put out by the arrangement and they were all very understanding and sympathetic."
An insurance assessor will visit the lodge this week to determine the extent of the damage.
Meanwhile Coetzee has returned to the lodge, while Van den Bergh is still recovering in Windhoek.
(Adele Mackenzie)
