Ministers unhurt in plane mishap

Two Cabinet ministers narrowly escaped serious injury after their helicopter crash-landed at Kaptarkok Primary School, Kaptarakwa division in Keiyo South district.

According to witnesses, the helicopter that was carrying Roads minister Franklin Bett and his Forestry counterpart, Dr Noah Wekesa, began to take off at around 1 pm but came down barely 100 metres from the take-off site.

Mr Douglas Kiplagat, an eyewitness at the accident scene, said when the chopper first landed, Mr Bett got out and asked him where they were.

He got back in, but it appeared as though the helicopter developed a mechanical fault seconds after take off and began to come back down, said Mr Kiplagat.

As soon as the front part of the plane hit the ground, the pilot and Cabinet ministers hurriedly got out.

Mr Alex Rotich, an area resident, said the ministers went to a nearby hotel for a cup of tea before another chopper came for them.

“The ministers said they were going to Elburgon for a function when they landed on the playground.

“Their wish to know where they were is an indicator that something was amiss with the communication gadgets and radar signal,” Mr Rotich said.

The pilot, Mr Nahashon Mutea, who was at the scene, declined to divulge any information about the incident, saying he had been informed that his airline was preparing a “comprehensive” statement for the media.

Administration police and Kenya Wildlife Service personnel kept vigil as members of the public flocked to the area to catch a glimpse of the chopper.