Families to identify victims of FlySax plane crash at Lee

Families and friends of victims of FlySax plane crash are today expected to identify bodies of their loved ones at the Lee Funeral Home in Nairobi.

The remains of the eight passengers and two crew were pulled out of the wreck on Thursday afternoon— some severely mutilated that it might require DNA tests to identify them.

PIECES

The bodies were transported from Njambini in Nyandarua County to Nairobi by road on Thursday.

The Nairobi-bound Cessna C208 FlySAX from Kitale, flying at 11,000 feet, plunged at Elephant Point in Aberdare Forest on Tuesday evening.

The plane’s nose appeared to have hit rocks of the 500-foot-tall cliff on the ranges before it came tumbling down, breaking into pieces.

The rescue mission, undertaken by a multi-agency team and more than 300 volunteers from the local community, took more than two days to access the scene of the crash due to rough terrain and hostile weather conditions at the high altitude.

Any survivor may have died from the wintry conditions after being trapped in the shell of the aircraft for more than 42 hours.

MISTY

For almost two days, they lay trapped in the wreck in the high-altitude, dense forest with temperatures below 10 degrees Celsius.

The Elephant Hill, a popular hiking zone in the Aberdares, is known for receiving just minutes of sunlight in 24 hours.

The peak of the ranges was covered in mist when rescuers, who trekked for over six hours from Njabini, reached the wreck at 12.30pm.

It later became cloudy and dark as it started to rain.

Those who perished in the accident are crew members Captain Barbara Wangeci and First Officer Jean Mureithi.

The passengers were Ahmed Ali, Khetia Kishani, Pinuerkerton Ronald, Kabara Waweru, George Ngugi, Robinson Wafula and Matakasarai Thamani and Matakatekei Paula.