Six people have been killed after a small medical plane crashed into a building in a Kenyan neighborhood.
The crash occurred near the Mwihoko Secondary School in Utawala on the afternoon of Thursday, Aug. 7, according to a statement from Kenya Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) director general Emile N. Arao.
The Cessna Citation 560 ambulance aircraft went down shortly after departing from Wilson Airport around 2:15 p.m. local time, losing both radio and radar contact with Air Traffic Control three minutes after takeoff, Arao said.
The plane crashed into a building before going up in flames, according to The Kenya Times.
Four people were onboard the plane, which was headed to Hargeisa, Somalia, at the time of the crash, according to Arao.
All four people on the plane d!ed in the crash, as well as two who were on the ground, Reuters and Newsweek reported.
The two people on the ground were reportedly inside a home that was hit by the aircraft.
“We are deeply saddened by this tragic incident involving an air ambulance mission,” Arao said in the statement. “Our immediate priority is to support rescue efforts and provide all necessary assistance to the families affected.”
The plane involved in the crash was run by AMREF Flying Doctors, Reuters reported.
AMREF said it is cooperating fully with authorities, according to Newsweek and Kenyan newspaper The Star.
An investigation into the crash is ongoing, Kenya CAA said.
This is coming less than 24 hours after Ghana’s Defence Minister, Edward Omane Boamah, and the Minister of Environment, Science and Technology, Ibrahim Murtala Muhammed, 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.
𝗙𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗼𝘄 𝗢𝘂𝗿 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁𝘀𝗔𝗽𝗽 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗹 𝗧𝗼 𝗚𝗲𝘁 𝗟𝗮𝘁𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗡𝗲𝘄𝘀 𝗔𝘀 𝗜𝘁'𝘀 𝗗𝗿𝗼𝗽!
