Twelve people have died after an aircraft headed to Kichwa Tembo from Diani crashed in the Kwale Simba area on Tuesday morning.
The Kenya Civil Aviation Authority (KCAA) Director General Emile Arao confirmed the incident, stating: “KCAA wishes to confirm that an aircraft, registration number 5Y-CCA, on its way from Diani to Kichwa Tembo, crashed at 0530Z.”
Kwale County Commissioner Steven Orinde confirmed, saying all the 12 victims of the ill-fated aircraft were foreign tourists heading to the Masai Mara.
“We are yet to establish their nationality, but they were all foreign tourists heading to Mara,” said Orinde.
A pilot has confirmed the ill-fated aircraft as: “Accident notification: RRV203, 5Y-CCA, C208 Diani to Kichwa Tembo”.
Government agencies are at the crash site to determine the cause of the accident and assess its impact.
This incident follows a similar accident in August, in which six people were killed when an AMREF air ambulance crashed in Mwihoko, Kiambu County, shortly after taking off from Wilson Airport.
KCAA confirmed the aircraft’s tragic fate, stating that it lost both radar and radio communication moments before going down.
The aircraft was carrying four people on board: two crew members and two medical personnel. Arao expressed deep sadness over this tragic incident involving an air ambulance mission.
