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Ultimate Africa travel and wildlife news archive

December 2000

Two Elephants Return to Africa, December 10 2000

Two African elephants, originally from Zimbabwe, are being returned from America to Botswana to join Abu Camp’s herd. Early next year the elephants will walk from Kasane to the Okavango Delta, passing through Botswana's Selinda Reserve in the first week of March.

Angola Breathes Life Back into Wild Areas, December 10 2000

Far from the violence of Angola's brutal civil war, an eagle soars over the silent Kwanza River Valley, forming a picture-postcard silhouette against skies tinged pink by the African sunset. Here there is little obvious evidence of Angola's devastating two-decade conflict, but even so a kind of battle is being waged.

While government troops and the Unita rebels clash elsewhere, Angola's top military brass are battling to reintroduce elephants, antelope and other species that once roamed the country's 10 national parks.

Backed by a privately funded US $10 million dollar project, the generals are working with South African wildlife experts to revive Angola's wildlife. They are beginning with the Quicama (pronounced Kiss-AH-ma) Park. "It’s a conservationist’s dream to set up a park from the beginning," James Coetzee, the park's South African warden, said as he sat cross-legged in the mild evening air near his whitewashed lodge. Behind him stretched the lush Kwanza Valley, the broad river meandering across plains dotted with towering candelabra cacti and ancient baobab trees. Quicama spans nearly a million hectares about 75km south of Luanda, the country's capital.

Angola's protracted war has had a catastrophic effect on the country's wildlife.

Forty years ago, thousands of animals roamed the fertile bushland of Quicama. But over the years, the animals fell prey to land mines, ivory-stalking poachers and hungry locals. Many animals were slaughtered by the country's military, which used low-flying helicopters to take pot shots at big game.

The civil war between the army and Unita rebels began after a 14-year struggle for independence from Portugal, which was granted in 1975. Still raging, the war has cost the lives of more than a million people and has driven more than 2.5 million civilians from their homes. Unita is a Portuguese-language acronym for the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola.

"Where there is a war, there is no law. Everyone does whatever they want, on the civilian side, as well as military," said Kalumbo, a "soba" or tribal chief who lives close to the park. "The people kill a buffalo, it makes a meal. But poachers, they kill 10, 15 or 20 at a time," he said.

Today, the park - and much of this Southwest African country - is virtually devoid of wildlife. A 1997 survey by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature estimated fewer than 300 elephants remained in all of Angola. Only last month, 30 elephants were found dead, their tusks brutally ripped out, at the Bicuar National Park in the southern province of Huila. Angola's Forest Development Institute said heavily armed Angolan and foreign poachers had killed them. Poachers use rifles, land mines or poisoned water sources to get their game. But this project could prove to be a turning point for the country's wildlife.

The idea was hatched by Luis Faceira and his brother Antonio, two powerful generals who head the government army and the elite "commandos" force. To oversee the project, they set up a nonprofit organization, called the Kissama Foundation, using the park's English-language name, and headed by Angola's armed forces chief General Joao de Matos. Two elephant family groups, 10 kudu and eight eland, have already been flown over from South African game reserves.

Recently, 10 of the grey elephants could be seen in the bush, blowing trunkfuls of red sand onto their backs to keep cool and chase away bugs before ambling off for more food. Another 300 elephants from Botswana are expected to join them over the next year.

The park lies in an area traditionally held by the army and is heavily protected.

Newly arriving animals are confined to a 20-hectare area ringed by an 8,500-volt electric fence patrolled by 60 former soldiers armed with AK-47 rifles.

The foundation is also seeking to boost tourism in a country of astounding natural beauty, but mostly avoided by tourists because of the fighting. "We hope this will be a way to assist in the political calming of the country, a vehicle to focus on something other than the war," Coetzee, the park warden, said. "Judging from the enthusiasm of the people," he added, "that can happen."

Oldest Bones of Human Ancestors Found in Kenya, December 10 2000

A team of French and Kenyan scientists have discovered fossilized remains of human ancestors that they believe are 1.5 million years older than previous findings. The remains include pieces of jaws with teeth, arm, leg and finger bones. They were found in central Kenya's Baringo district beginning Oct. 25.

"We are very secure about the dating," said Brigitte Senut of the National Museum of Natural History in Paris. Other researchers who did not participate in the discovery said the fossils are the oldest evidence yet of the base of the human family tree.

They said the bones' structure should offer new evidence about the origins of bipedalism, or upright walking. It's a defining feature that separates early members of the human family known as hominids from apes.

"These fossils push back the earliest good evidence of bipedalism and of hominids by almost 2 million years," said University of Illinois anthropologist Brian G. Richmond. "What these fossils don't tell us is what kind of creature gave rise to the earliest hominids. Did it knuckle-walk like gorillas and chimps, which are our closest living relatives, or was it more like other apes and monkeys?"

Senut said the fossils were found in layers between two stratas that have been dated to be 6 million years old by American and British scientists. The previously oldest hominid remains were found in Aramis, Ethiopia, and were dated to be 4.5 million years old.

Richmond said the date proposed by Senut and others "is probably correct," but more information about the geological context of the fossils is needed to confirm it. He said the Tugen Hills of central Kenya have fossil-bearing sediments that span a range of 16 million years to near-present.

The expedition to Baringo was funded by College de France and the French National Museum of Natural History. The French also worked with the private Community Museums of Kenya.

Cameroon's Western Black Rhino Nearly Extinct, December 10 2000

Conservation experts ended a three-day workshop in Yaounde, Cameroon, recently with an ambitious program aimed at rehabilitating the western black rhino - a subspecies of the rhino now found only in northern Cameroon - which is threatened by extinction. However, they warned that success would depend on strong government commitment.

In 1980, it was estimated that as many as 3,000 western black rhino existed in the Central African Republic, Chad and Cameroon. By 1997, however, there were only an estimated 10 animals scattered over an area of 25,000 square kilometers in northern Cameroon. Poaching and a dwindling natural habitat caused by expanding cottonfields and the encroaching desert are given as reasons for the drastic decline in rhino numbers.

Martin Brooks, of KZN Wildlife (previously KwaZulu-Natal Nature Conservation Service) in South Africa and Yaounde workshop coordinator reportedly said that the western black rhino (Diceros bicornis longipes) is the most critically endangered of all African rhinos and that time is running out. He also said that without concerted action the subspecies is likely to go extinct in the near future.

Participants to the workshop cited the lack of adequate sentencing of those convicted of rhino crimes in Cameroon as a major problem as this does not act as a deterrent to potential poachers. They urged Cameroon to follow the successful example of South Africa and Namibia where poachers receive maximum jail terms of 10-20 years and/or heavy fines, while in Swaziland, rhino crimes are considered non-bailable offences and carry a mandatory prison term of at least five years plus a large fine which, if not paid, results in an additional two year sentence.

The creation of a 270 square kilometer sanctuary within a protected area far away from international borders has been proposed as a measure to protect the remaining free-roaming rhinos in Cameroon. However, the success of this measure would mainly depend on co-operation from the Cameroon authorities, the article states. Sufficient long-term funding to establish and run the sanctuary will have to be secured and a number of fundamental security-related problems addressed.

Bleak Future for the African Penguin, December 10 2000

Despite the successful rescue operation after the Treasure oil spill off the Western Cape coast of South Africa earlier this year, the future of the African penguin is still looking bleak.

The penguin population is reportedly in a steady decline of about two percent a year. Numbers crashed from about 1,6 million in 1930 to 186,000 in the mid-1990s. If this trend continues, the penguins will become extinct in the wild within 50 years,

Kruger's Wild Dog Numbers are Dwindling, December 10 2000

Wild dog numbers in the Kruger National Park have dwindled from 450 to 200 in the past few years. The Kruger Park is not certain of the reasons for the decline, but there has been a high mortality rate among the puppies.

There are a number of small, isolated populations left in various of South Africa's protected areas, with the largest and only viable population in the Kruger National Park.

South African Airways to Fly Alliance Routes, December 10 2000

South African Airways (SAA) has been given a go-ahead to operate flights at Entebbe Airport in Uganda thrice a week. SAA is to begin flights on the Johannesburg-Entebbe route in the first week of December, replacing regional carrier SA Alliance Air.

SAA's entry follows the collapse of Alliance Air operations early October and ongoing efforts by private firms in Uganda and Tanzania to resume the airline's operations before December 1, 2000.

Rocktail Bay Lodge Changes, December 10 2000

The 'light, airy' rooms at Wilderness Safaris’ Rocktail Bay Lodge in northern KwaZulu Natal, South Africa are no longer thatched following a total refurbishment of the property.

In addition to a wide range of activities, the lodge will now offer scuba diving. Wilderness will be utilizing Island Rock as a launch site. Diving will be offered subject to boat availability, weather and tidal conditions, and is at additional cost.

Guests can also enjoy the benefits of aromatherapy and body massage at the health spa.

World’s First African Gold Museum for Cape Town, December 10 2000

Cape Town has been chosen to host the world's first museum dedicated to African gold mainly. The museum opens in April 2001 in a historical building next to a church in Strand Street. It will have a learning center teaching centuries-old goldsmithing techniques. Displays will include those loaned by museums and collectors worldwide, and would have the world's largest and most important permanent collection of African gold artifacts, said AngloGold marketing director, Kelvin Williams.

British Airways Reduces Flights into Zimbabwe, December 10 2000

BRITISH Airways (BA) has reduced its flights into Zimbabwe. BA has halted its Sunday night Harare-London flight, reducing its frequency from four to three a week due to a decrease in the number of travelers into Zimbabwe.

Zimbabwe Environmentalists Help Feed Starving Hippos, December 10 2000

The Kariba branch of Wildlife & Environment Zimbabwe (formerly The Wildlife Society of Zimbabwe) reports that hippos at Lake Kariba are facing starvation. According to Jimmiel Mandima, chairman of the Kariba branch, there is a group of breeding hippos near the Tiger Bay lodge that has starving adults. The branch subsequently approached the local National Parks office, which requested that Wildlife & Environment Zimbabwe assist in sourcing fodder for supplementary feeding for these animals.

According to Mr. Mandima, the Kariba branch will, like the previous year, co-ordinate the distribution of the feed on the ground.

Wilderness Safaris Southern Africa Update, December 17 2000

Wilderness Safaris has just had their leases at Duba, Vumbura and Little Vumbura renewed for another five years. They now have rights for another camp in the Vumbura area and may build a small camp for their 13 day Jacana Safari. So for 2001, their Jacana Safari will include three nights in either of these areas instead of three nights at Stanley's Camp. Wilderness are also going to develop a small traditional village camp in the next door concession to the north of Vumbura. The village will be called Gombo. Guests can spend a night there and learn about all the traditions and culture of the country in a pristine and non-commercial environment. If the community get Land Board permission (which they should), they will probably include a night at Gombo on the Jacana Safari as well, to give guests an incredible all-round wildlife and cultural experience. Guests on fly-in safaris, who want to enjoy a cultural night, may also be able to visit Gombo for a night.

Wilderness Safaris now have three Caravans flying in between their camps in northern Botswana, along with the Cessna 206's and the Islander. The Caravans are air-conditioned and are in immaculate condition, making flying a real pleasure for guests.

To assist with meet-and-greets at Maun airport, Wilderness now have carts to take guests to and from aircraft. This saves guests the effort of walking across the hot tarmac - and from getting too wet when there is a rain shower. Initially, Wilderness were worried what the guests would think about carts, but they have had an incredible responses so far (I enjoyed the airport cart pickup myself – Ian Proctor, managing director of Ultimate Africa who recently returned from Maun).

The Okavango water levels have started to drop after record highs. Wildlife viewing by vehicle has resumed at Xigera and they are seeing good game on the drives. Water levels in the open plains of Duba is low now, so mokoroing at Duba is not great. From now until March, Duba will mainly offer day and night game drives and walks. The water levels at Kings Pool are too low for the double decker boat for now - and there are too many hippos for the smaller boats. So boating for now is restricted till the waters rise from the rains (hopefully in about two months or so).

There was a large fire raging in the Caprivi Strip that jumped the border and has burnt through parts of the Linyanti concession. New green shoots are attracting game in large numbers. The game viewing in general has been excellent throughout Botswana. Mombo has been particularly outstanding. Mombo surely has some of the best game viewing year-round in all of Africa. The new camp is settling nicely, and Wilderness are receiving very good reports from guests (as is Ultimate Africa).

The Botswana Government are going to aerial spray the Okavango Delta next year to control the tsetse fly. This will take place at the onset of the southern African winter. The environmental issues seem to have been well thought through and there should be almost no negative impacts - while eradicating the tsetses!

In Namibia Dave van Smeerdijk and his team has made an incredible impact in and have given the entire operation the focus and motivation to perform at wonderful levels. The quality of the operation has been superb. The wildlife numbers in the Damaraland area are increasing rapidly due to the protection afforded by the conservancy.

Wilderness have one Caravan aircraft (in addition to other smaller aircraft) operating in Namibia and this has made a dramatic and positive impact on our operations - especially up in the Skeleton Coast where supplies have to be flown long distances to the camp. This Caravan can be chartered independently too.

The Skeleton Coast lodge has to be one of our very best safari options! The new Himba village guests are visiting has to be one of the finest cultural experiences anywhere. The temperature barely changes from summer to winter and the Skeleton Coast is an ideal summer safari destination.

Ian McCallum’s book - "Thorns to Kilimanjaro" - has just been published. Its supposed to be a novel, but is almost autobiographical. If you see the book - buy it! It’s a great read for anyone who has a love of Africa.

The Skeleton Coast Camp kitchen / dining room burned down at 3am one night due to a gas leak probably caused by an animal biting through the gas pipe. Wilderness are using the opportunity to put in a brand-new dining room and kitchen with more space than before.

Ongava is running so smoothly, and wildlife has been incredible (Ian Proctor, Ultimate Africa managing director, who just visited agrees – INCREDIBLE!). There are now 17 white rhino and 7 black rhino on the reserve, lions everywhere and the general game has flourished - and have been helped by the great rains earlier this year. Ongava Tented Camp matches any of Wilderness’s Botswana camps for that 'tented camp' atmosphere. The waterholes in front of both camps attract a multitude of animals, and it is not unusual to see a number of rhino, or up to eight different species of animals at the waterholes while guests enjoy dinner out under the stars. The lions at Ongava use these waterholes as a favorite ambush and hunting site and guests are frequently seeing incredible action right in front of their tents!

The Namib Desert experience here (over and above the Sossusvlei dunes) is incredible and Wilderness want to give their guests the ultimate Sossusvlei and Namib Desert experience. They will be forming the Kulala Wilderness Reserve and merging two properties to create a 42,000 acre private reserve. They can now offer fantastic late afternoon / night safaris where guests may see many of the rare animals one would not normally encounter during the day - like aardwolf, bat-eared fox, polecat and sometimes even aardvark - and all the other little critters of the Namib! In addition, they are offering optional wonderful ballooning safaris run by Eric Hesemans and Nancy Du Pont. This is at extra cost of around US$240 per person. The ballooning is a great way to top off the fantastic Namib Desert experience.

In Zimbabwe Wilderness Safaris has had many guests and although there will very likely be food and fuel shortages in some parts of the country, they are guaranteeing to keep operating to perfect standards with no disruptions. They are guaranteeing these standards no matter what happens elsewhere in the country. Zimbabwe is an incredible experience.

Zimbabwe may be in the news for the wrong reasons, but in the parks the country is incredible - one of the best close-up game experiences anywhere in Africa. It is not for the faint-hearted though!

Game viewing has been incredible throughout all the camps. Matusadona is becoming the lion capital and recently in the Makalolo / Linkwasha area of Hwange, guests on one drive saw about 4,000 head of game! At Chikwenya in Mana Pools it is hard to travel more than 1 or 2 kilometers in an hour on the drives, due to the high game concentrations.

Night drives have also now been fully entrenched by National Parks in Wilderness’s Zimbabwe camps. They have to pay new additional fees to parks to do this - but they believe that this is worth it for enhancing the guest's overall experience.

In South Africa the Cape Grace Hotel was voted by Conde Naste readers as the best hotel in the World in their readers survey!

The turtles at Rocktail are "nesting" this year with a vengeance - and the upgrade and renovations are starting to make a huge difference to guests enjoyment of the lodge.

Victoria Falls Safari Lodge Initiates Anti-Poaching Patrols, December 17 2000

The Victoria Falls Safari Lodge in Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe, has initiated an anti-poaching unit in an effort to control the increasing problem of snaring mammals and the destruction of indigenous woodlands in areas surrounding the Falls. The unit, under the leadership of the hotel's professional guide, Charles Brightman, will work closely with Zimbabwe's Department of National Parks and Wildlife. The unit team currently constitutes three permanent staff members but hopes to increase it to eight in the near future.

International Funding for Transfrontier Conservation Area, December 17 2000

International donors have pledged an unspecified sum of money to the Gaza/Kruger/Gonarezhou transfrontier conservation area between Mozambique, South Africa and Zimbabwe.

The announcement was made recently in Maputo, Mozambique, after a meeting between the country's Forestry and Wildlife National Directorate (DNFFB) and donors such as the World Bank, the German Development Bank (KFW), and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).

A project of the Peace Parks Foundation, the park will cover an area totaling a massive 95,700 square kilometers. Traditional migration routes for elephant and buffalo will be re-established, eliminating the need for controversial culling and translocation programs.

Whales outdo Wildlife in South Africa, December 17 2000

South Africa's flourishing whale-watching industry has been attracting more foreign tourists than the Kruger National Park during the high season over the last two years.

A recent South African Tourism survey reported that during the month of August, which is high season on the whale calendar, whale-watching has consistently been more popular among foreign tourists than the wildlife viewing offered by the Kruger Park.

According to Whale Route chairperson Greg Vogt this is not surprising since the whale watching industry in South Africa has grown by 112% per annum since 1994. Vogt says South Africa offers visitors some of the best land-based whale watching in the world as it has the highest diversity of whales along its coast.

A 1998 international survey rated South Africa among the top five fastest growing whale watching destinations in the world.

South Africa to Host Earth Summit in 2002, December 17 2000

The city of Johannesburg, South Africa, has been chosen to host the world's premier environmental gathering - the Earth Summit in 2002. The announcement was made by Rejoice Mabudafhasi, South African Deputy Minister of Environmental Affairs and Tourism. She said the summit would be the largest conference ever to be held in South Africa. This major event could draw 60,000 delegates.

Earth Summit delegates will examine sustainable development globally, focusing on issues such as sustainable cities, waste management, housing development, gender issues, and proper management of water resources and pollution.

The Sandton Convention Center will serve as the hub of the event, while other venues such as Gallagher Estate, the Expo Center at Nasrec and the MTN Sundome will also be utilised.

Proposals to Protect Penguins at Cape Town’s Boulders Beach, December 17 2000

After marathon talks, revised proposals for the development of the famous Boulders Beach penguin retreat at Simon's Town have been agreed. Environmental consultant, Erica van den Honert, said the basic elements include the concentration of 'tourism' (which means penguin-watching) at Foxy Beach; and 'recreation' (sunbathing, swimming etc) at Boulders Beach. This means observers would be able to mingle freely with the penguins at Boulders Beach. However, penguins would not be allowed to nest above the beach.

Locals are locked in a bitter love-hate relationship with the penguins. While many people recognize the importance of preserving the penguins' natural habitat because they cannot be successfully "re-colonized", and because of the lucrative tourism draw of the black and white birds, many complain of smell, noise and traffic congestion.

The draft report also includes better traffic and parking measures, pedestrian protection and other measures. A visitors' center and toilets would be built and staff facilities improved. Ms Van den Honert said: "The objective is to develop a world-class penguin-viewing facility at Foxy Beach while allowing recreational use of the other beaches, minimizing environmental impact, maximizing pedestrian access, managing traffic and pedestrian flow and reducing impact on local residents."

The 'Issues Report' forms part of the Cape Peninsula National Park's Development Framework for Boulders which goes to the Department of Tourism and Environmental Affairs for review. Other bodies will comment on it before planning studies begin and permission granted or rejected.

South African Airline Buys Brazilian Jets, December 17 2000

The Brazilian aircraft manufacturer, Embraer, says it has agreed to sell a South African Airlink seventy jets in a deal worth US $900 million dollars.

The contract was signed in the Brazilian city of Sao Jose dos Campos during a visit to the Embraer plant by the South African president, Thabo Mbeki.

Embraer is the world's fourth-largest aircraft manufacturer and one of Brazil's leading exporters.

Cape Town to Host Culinary Festival, December 17 2000

One of the South Africa’s largest culinary showcases, the Good Food & Wine Show, will return to Cape Town in 2001. It will be held at the Good Hope Center from May 24-27, 2001.

20,000 Tourists to Witness Eclipse in Zambia, December 17 2000

An estimated 20,000 tourists are expected to witness the total eclipse of the sun in June 2001, according to the Zambian Ministry of Tourism.

The ministry noted that the total eclipse of the sun is expected to be viewed in full in Chisamba for about three minutes. In other places, it will only be viewed for about a minute.

Tanzania Hosts International Wildlife Conference, December 17 2000

More than 130 wildlife experts from various continents met in northern Tanzania's Kilimanjaro region recently for a three-day international meeting on wildlife conservation and development in the new millennium.

Topics under discussion include the various types of training needed in wildlife conservation as well as ways to create income for conservation in Africa after donors have suspended their contributions.

The following countries were represented at the conference: Tanzania, Mozambique, Ghana, South Africa, Mauritius, Republic of Congo, Botswana, Malawi, Zimbabwe, Uganda, Kenya, Germany, Canada, England, America, Japan and the Netherlands.

Kenyan Game Wardens Fired for Poaching, December 17 2000

Six game wardens from the Kenya Wildlife Service, who killed four elephants, have been fired. The Samburu District based wardens were found in possession of 16 ivory tusks at Angata, about 260 miles north of Nairobi.

According to the Kenya Wildlife Service, the wardens had been assigned the task of driving the elephants away from human settlements, but instead shot four of them and removed their tusks. They will soon appear in court on poaching charges.

Foot-and-Mouth Disease Confirmed among Serengeti's Wildebeest, December 24 2000

An outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease has been confirmed for the first time among wildebeest in Tanzania's Serengeti National Park. In wildebeest herds affected by the outbreak, up to a fifth of the animals are lame, Dr. Titus Mlengenya, chief veterinary officer for Tanzania National Parks has said.

Foot-and-mouth, which does not pose a risk to humans, infects cloven-hoofed animals and has a mortality rate that ranges from 5% for adult animals to 75% for newborns.

It is the first time the disease has been identified in the Serengeti's wildebeest since the area became a national park in 1959, Mlengenya said.

Cattle around the Serengeti also have turned up with foot-and-mouth, he said, urging wildlife experts to develop new policies to keep foot-and-mouth, and other diseases, from spreading. "As the role of wildlife to the national economy is increasing, it's important that livestock health and development programs should also integrate the wildlife," he said at a conference of wildlife experts.

Mlengenya also noted that two chimpanzees died of pneumonia in February after close contact with humans, and in 1997, six elephants died of food poisoning after scavenging in garbage left behind by visitors. Four out of 36 lions tested positive for tuberculosis, he said.

The Serengeti is famous for the incredible migration of 1.5 million wildebeest that move to the Masai Mara Park in neighboring Kenya, where they mate and graze before returning to the Tanzanian Park to give birth.

Rhodes Hotel Update, December 24 2000

Zimbabwe’s Rainbow Tourism Group has disinvested from the Rainbow Nyanga Lodge as part of its privatization process. The decision to disinvest from the lodge in the Nyanga National Park was made after RTG carried out a product portfolio analysis to determine the value and yield to shareholders of the company's hotels and lodges.

The Rainbow Nyanga Lodge was identified as a personality-driven rather than a corporate brand-driven product, hence the decision to disinvest from its operation as soon as possible. RTG's spokeswoman Precious Chitapi said yesterday that personality-driven enterprises were more cheaply run by small organizations than by corporate. "When we were running it, we had to maintain certain standards so it would fall within the standards of the group, but if you were to run that lodge as an individual, you're right there on the spot and the costs of running it come down," she said.

Rhodes Nyanga Hotel (Private) Limited has taken over the business, which will revert to its original name of Rhodes Hotel. The hotel, which has 24 rooms, will continue to run under the custodianship of the Zimbabwe Ministry of Environment and Tourism through the Rhodes Nyanga Trust.

Passenger Tries to Crash British Airways Flight to Kenya, December 31 2000

Passengers of a British Airways jumbo jet have told of their terror as the flight crew grappled with a Kenyan man who broke into the cockpit. Men, women and children screamed, fearing for the lives, as the Gatwick to Nairobi flight, with 398 people on board, nose-dived several thousand feet before the intruder could be restrained.

The captain, William Hagan, 53, said the plane was within seconds of flipping over and crashing if the 27-year-old Kenyan man, believed to be mentally ill, had not been overpowered. Captain Hagan, co-pilot Richard Webb, 35 restrained the man with the help of business class passengers as another co-pilot Phil Watson, 38, regained control of the aircraft. Six BA crew and passengers were later treated in hospital for cuts, strains and a broken ankle suffered during the terrifying incident.

Captain Hagan, from Glasgow, whose wife and two children were on board, was bitten on the ear and finger in the struggle which also badly damaged an eye of the intruder.

The plane, which had left Gatwick airport in West Sussex at 2300GMT on Thursday eventually, landed at Nairobi where the intruder was arrested by Kenyan police. Nairobi police said the intruder was taken to hospital and sedated.

The incident happened over Sudan - six hours into the eight-and-a-half hour flight. Passengers, who included singer Bryan Ferry, described the terrifying moments when they thought they were going to die. "Stuff was flying around, we thought the plane was going to fall," said Zoe McNaughton, a 19-year-old student from Kent.

Benjamin Goldsmith, who was on board with his sister Jemima Khan, wife of the former Pakistani cricket captain Imran Khan, said sleeping passengers were woken by the sound the screaming. "The plane stopped diving and went into another dive at a really weird angle going down to the left and basically very, very steep, violent shuddering, and then the engines cut out altogether and there was total silence." The cabin lights went out and oxygen masks dropped before the pilots regained control after about 20 seconds, he said.

Todd Angstrom, 41, from Portland, Oregon, USA, was travelling to Kenya with his wife and two daughters to do voluntary work. "When the pilot came on the tannoy he was breathless," he said. "He said that a madman had tried to take control of the plane and crash it."

Mike Street, director of operations and customer relations at BA, said the airline was very proud of the flight crew. "They are trained to deal with disruptive passengers and jumped into action with well-rehearsed security procedures and followed our safety policies to the letter," he said.

The incident follows a similar attack in July 1999 when the captain of an All Nippon Airways jumbo jet carrying more than 500 people was stabbed to death when a 28-year-old man burst into the cockpit during a flight. The attacker then briefly took over the controls, putting the Boeing 747 into an unscheduled descent, before being wrestled to the ground by the co-pilot and three other crew members.

Travel to Zimbabwe OK’d, December 31 2000

Several countries have lifted travel warnings for their nationals to Zimbabwe imposed in fear they could be caught up in election- related violence this past June. The Chairman of Zimbabwe Council for Tourism, Steve Mangadze, said Japan, Germany and several European countries had lifted the Zimbabwe travel warnings, adding that a steady stream of tourists from the countries were coming to Zimbabwe. "The lifting of the warnings is a major development and we believe that many tourists will come in once the environment is conducive," he said.

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