BREAKING: Many Feared Killed In Plane Crash
An aircraft operated by AMREF Flying Doctors crashed in a densely populated neighborhood in Nairobi, Kenya, on Thursday afternoon, killing all four people on board and two others on the ground, according to local authorities.
According to Reuters, the ill-fated Cessna plane was on a medical mission, headed to Hargeisa — the capital of Somaliland, Somalia’s breakaway region — when it went down shortly after takeoff from Wilson Airport.
Kiambu County Commissioner Henry Wafula confirmed the fatalities: “the four people on board and two people on the ground were killed.”
The Kenya Civil Aviation Authority (KCAA) said the aircraft departed at 2:14 PM local time (1114 GMT) and lost contact with air traffic control just three minutes later.
“We are deeply saddened by this tragic incident involving an air ambulance mission,” KCAA said in a statement.
AMREF Flying Doctors, a non-profit medical service organization, also confirmed the aircraft was engaged in a humanitarian flight.
Eyewitnesses described the terrifying moment of impact. One woman, who spoke to Reuters on condition of anonymity, said she heard a deafening noise moments before the crash: “I heard a loud sound, then saw a fireball and debris scattered over the neighbourhood.”
Emergency crews responded swiftly to the crash site, but the impact and ensuing fire left little chance of survival for those involved.
An investigation is currently underway to determine the cause of the crash.
In a similar development, Naija News House had earlier reported that Ghana’s Defence Minister, Edward Omane Boamah, and the Minister of Environment, Science and Technology, Ibrahim Murtala Muhammed, have died in a tragic military helicopter crash that occurred on Wednesday in the Ashanti region, Reuters has reported.
According to Julius Debrah, Chief of Staff to President John Mahama, the crash also claimed the lives of three other government officials and three Air Force personnel who were on board.
