Hunt on for clues in FlySax plane crash

Rescue workers are combing through the debris of an aircraft that crashed in the Aberdare Forest looking for clues to establish the cause of the accident that claimed ten lives.

All the bodies of the victims were recovered after a day-long search led a multiagency team of 300 men largely comprised of locals into the thick dense forest.

The bodies were transported by road to Lee Funeral in Nairobi where identification will take place.

SEARCH

“We will now head to the  identification stage,” said Mr Pius Maasai of the National Disaster Management Unit, Personal items belonging to the victims were collected and handed over to NDMU.

Those involved in the search mission described to the Nation the site of a deadly impact of the crash which was only visible about 13km into the forest.

Aerial search teams sighted the wreckage at the peak of the ranges in the morning before they made their way to the place. The team included the Nyandarua County disaster management, Kenya Red Cross, Kenya Police  and Kenya Forestry Service.

Nyandarua Governor Francis Kimemia said the difficulty in accessing the crash site amplified the need for adequate disaster response capacity across the country.  “I urge national government to cascade emergency management capacity to 47 counties to improve preparedness and rapid response,” he said.

Daniel Kariuki, who was among the first group that left for the forest at around 6am together with KWS and KFS wardens said at the crash site, there were several scorched trees and countless pieces of scattered debris spread across an area up to 2km in diameter. A second team left the forest edge at around 11 am and entered the forest to provide support to the earlier team.

The plane’s black box was also recovered and broken pieces of the wings scattered.

“The front of the plane appeared burnt. Pieces of the plane looked like they had smouldered after the impact,” Kariuki said.

The plane’s wreckage was found below the Mugongo wa Njogu Hill, or the Elephant Point which is popular with tourists and Christians who worship inside the forest.

It is the peak of the Aberdare range. Njabini deputy county commissioner Daniel Nyameti, who was in charge on communications at the Command Centre said that the plane landed about 500 metres down after crashing into Elephant Peak.

BAD WEATHER

To reach here, the search team had to endure harsh cold weather, steep terrain and bushes.

“It appears the plane hit the cliff and fell below it,” Kariuki who was soaked in mud said.

It took the team about five hours to access the area which is also home to buffaloes according to the locals. “We had to make small routes inside the forest and mark trees with red ribbons to know our way back.”

At the wreckage site, it is still a security zone, and the public was warned against going back until all investigations are complete.

An early morning aerial survey made it easier for the rescue team to trace the bodies and the wreck, but helicopters on standby were unable to access the area due to extreme weather, forcing the rescuers to embark on hours of manual recovery.

The Air Accident Investigation Division of Kenya said until the search and pertinent investigations are complete, it is too early to know what caused the accident.

“Proper procedure has to be followed. We are not even sure if the plane crashed, we are just relying on a signal received from Kinangop," an official who didn’t wish to be named told the Nation on Wednesday.

SHATTERED HOPES

The announcement of the recovery of the bodies shattered the hopes of families and friends of the crew and passengers who by last evening had arrived at the edge of the forest to receive bodies of their loved ones.

John Mwangi, a friend George Kinyua from Kahawa West in Nairobi, and had accompanied George’s friends in search of their kin narrated how they drove from Nairobi to Njabini, back to Naivasha and back again to Njabini as they tried to gather more information.

“All we know is that we have lost him. But we do not know when and where they will take the bodies. No one is willing to give us a comprehensive report, we need that information to help us plan the way forward,” said Mr Mwangi.

Others complained of inadequate and untimely communication from the government making it impossible for them to plan and organized themselves.

Some of the next of kin kept driving from to and from Naivasha where the aircraft operations were shifted to from Njabini Command Centre.