Six people have died after a medical plane operated by the charity Amref Flying Doctors crashed near the Kenyan capital Nairobi, a senior Kenyan government official said.
The light Cessna aircraft took off from Wilson Airport on Thursday evening, bound for the Somaliland capital Hargeisa. Three minutes into the flight, it lost radio and radar contact and crashed into a house in Githurai, Ruiru County, Kiambu County.
Kiambu County Commissioner Henry Wafula confirmed that four people on board the plane – including doctors, nurses and the pilot – had died. Two people on the ground also died in the crash, while two others were seriously injured.
A search and rescue operation has been launched at the scene involving the Kenya Defence Forces (KDF), Kenya National Police, and emergency services.
A Kenya Civil Aviation Authority (KCAA) spokesperson said the plane lost contact with air traffic control from the third minute of the flight, indicating an emergency.
Stephen Gitau, CEO of Amref Flying Doctors, said the agency was fully cooperating with aviation authorities and emergency teams to determine the exact cause of the tragic accident.
Witnesses said they heard a loud explosion and a red light streaking across the sky, then saw black smoke and people screaming as they fled the scene.
Patricia Kombo, a resident, told the BBC she was in a car with friends on the Githurai road when they heard the crash. “I saw a big light, when I picked up my phone to record it, it stopped, it turned into smoke, people were screaming,” she said.
Reports also said four workers from the Kenya Pipeline Company were killed in another accident near the town of Naivasha, where a train and a bus carrying workers collided. Other injured workers were rushed to hospital.
The crash comes at a time of growing concerns over Kenya’s air safety, with several air crashes recorded this year.
Special investigators are currently at the scene of the accident to begin a formal investigation, with their findings expected to be released in the coming weeks.
