Six people have been confirmed dead and at least two others injured after a light aircraft belonging to AMREF Flying Doctors crashed at a residential area in Mwihoko area of Kiambu County on Wednesday afternoon.
The aircraft, Cessna Citation XLS, registration 5Y-FDM, which was headed to Somalia, had four people on board at the time it went down under unclear circumstances.
Kiambu County Commissioner Henry Wafula confirmed that the fatalities include two doctors and two nurses who were onboard the aircraft, as well as two members of the public who were at the scene.
In a statement on the incident, AMREF Flying Doctors CEO Stephen Gitau said the aircraft took off from Wilson Airport at 2.17 PM en route to Hargeisa, Somalia, before it crashed in Mwihoko.
“At this time, we are cooperating fully with relevant aviation authorities and emergency response teams to establish the facts surrounding the situation,” he added.
A multi-agency team comprising the Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) and the National Police Service was swiftly deployed to the scene and is currently conducting rescue and recovery operations.
Authorities have cordoned off the site as investigations into the cause of the crash continue.
