By Abiola Olawale
An aircraft carrying foreign tourists has tragically crashed in Kenya’s coastal Kwale region, with all 12 people on board feared dead.
The New Diplomat reports that the aviation disaster occurred early Tuesday morning.
The ill-fated aircraft, a Cessna Caravan-type plane operated by Mombasa Air Safari with registration number 5Y-CCA, went down in a hilly and forested area near the Tsimba Golini area, roughly 40 kilometers from the Diani airstrip.
The plane was en route to the world-renowned Maasai Mara National Reserve when it crashed shortly after takeoff early Tuesday morning.
The reserve is a popular tourist destination that hosts the annual wildebeest migration from the Serengeti in Tanzania.
Daily Nation, a Kenyan newspaper, published images of the aircraft in flames on the ground with debris scattered at the scene of the crash.
In a statement, the Kenya Civil Aviation Authority (KCAA) said government agencies were already on site working to determine the cause of the accident and assess its impact.
Stephen Orinde, Kwale County commissioner, said the passengers were “all foreign tourists” and their nationalities would be confirmed later.
