Six killed in Kenya plane crash 24hrs after Ghana incident
At least six persons have lost their lives and two injured after a light aircraft belonging to a medical charity crashed into a residential block near Nairobi, the Kenyan capital.
The tragedy occurred on Thursday, barely 24 hours after a military helicopter crashed in Ghana’s southern Ashanti region on Wednesday, claiming the lives all eight persons aboard the flight, including Ghana’s Defence and Environment Ministers.
The Kenyan flight was en route to Somaliland before it crashed and burst into flames in Ruiru, Kiambu County, shortly after 3:00 pm (1200 GMT).
The Kiambu County commissioner, Henry Wafula, described the incident as fatal. “We have lost four people, including the pilot. It was all fatal. The house that it landed on, two people also died,” stating further that two other persons on the ground sustained serious injuries.
The crash scene, following the incident, was crowded while rescuers and first responders were combing through the debris.
A resident, Irene Wangui said: “The plane passed by our building shaking it… there were body parts littered all over.”
While the tragedy of the plane crash victims lingered, some residents also counted their losses. “I have lost everything, thank God my children were not around,” Margaret Wairimu said to AFP.
The CEO of Amref Flying Doctors, Stephen Gitau confirmed that one of its airplanes, a Cessna Citation XLS was involved in a fatal accident.
“At this time, we are cooperating fully with relevant aviation authorities and emergency response teams to establish the facts surrounding the situation,” Gitau added.
