Esipisu said floors of the mall collapsed after a fire started by the al-Shabab attackers caused structural weakness in a 3rd floor parking lot, which then came down onto the second floor and brought it down onto the first, or ground floor.
He said there were known to be eight civilians in the rubble, which were included in the government's official death estimate. There could be several terrorists also buried, he said.
At the mall Wednesday morning, gunshots could be heard. Esipisu said they were from Kenyan forces going room to room in the large Westgate Mall, firing protectively before entering unknown territory.
“During sanitization once you take control of the place if you go to a room where you haven't visited before you shoot first to make sure you aren't walking into an ambush,” he said. “But there hasn't been any gunfire from the terrorists for more than 36 hours.”
