A Mombasa Air Safari plane filled with tourists crashed in Kwale County, Kenya, on October 28, resulting in the pilot and all 10 tourist passengers passing away. According to the Associated Press, the airline shared that the flight’s Kenyan pilot, eight Hungarians, and two Germans were all victims of the crash. Footage from the aftermath shows fragmented parts of the plane, now scattered debris, across the scene, while smoke rises from the remnants of the crash’s fire. Yellow tape reading “Crime Scene Do Not Cross” marked off the territory.
The incident reportedly occurred early Tuesday morning, local time, amid heavy rain. The Mombasa Air Safari flight was transporting the tourists to the Maasai Mara National Reserve. The plane is said to have departed from Diani, a beach resort town on Kenya’s south coast, around 25 miles from where the plane crashed. The flight from Diani to the Maasai Mara National Reserve is generally a two-hour direct flight.
What Else Is There For Me To Know About The Kenya Safari Plane Crash?
The exact details of the incident are still under investigation. Per witnesses, human remains were at the crime scene, though unrecognizable. The Kenya Civil Aviation Authority (KCAA) issued a press statement stating that the crash occurred at 5:30 a.m. local time. The latter source further detailed that the plane was headed to the private Kichwa Tembo airstrip, located in the northern part of the Maasai Mara National Reserve.
The pilot was reportedly uncommunicative while the plane departed from Diani and unreachable for 30 minutes before the plane’s whereabouts were pinpointed.
Following the crash, Kwale County Commissioner Stephen Orinde told the BBC, “The weather is not very good here at the moment. Since early in the morning, it is raining and it is very misty, but we cannot preempt [the findings].”
“Our primary focus right now is on providing all possible support to the families affected,” Mombasa Air Safari reportedly said in a statement.
