No survivors in FlySax plane crash in the Aberdares

The weather is increasingly becoming misty at Elephant Point, the site of the crash in the Aberdares. PHOTO | KENYA RED CROSS

What you need to know:

  • The Cessna C208 aircraft, registration number 5Y-CAC, left a Kitale airstrip in Trans-Nzoia County at 4.05pm for Nairobi but lost contact with the control tower at 5.20pm.
  • On board were the pilot, Captain Barbra Wangeci Kamau, and First Officer and co-pilot Jean Mureithi.

None of the eight passengers and two crew members of FlySax plane that crashed in the Aberdares survived.

FlySax chairman Charles Wako made the announcement on Thursday at Weston Hotel in Nairobi as he pleaded for understanding.

The Cessna C208 aircraft, registration number 5Y-CAC, left a Kitale airstrip in Trans-Nzoia County at 4.05pm for Nairobi but lost contact with the control tower at 5.20pm.

On board were the pilot, Captain Barbra Wangeci Kamau, and First Officer and co-pilot Jean Mureithi.

The eight passengers were Ahmed Ali Abdi, Karaba Sailah Waweru Muiga, Khetia Kishani, Matakasakaraia Thamani, Matakatekei Paula, Ngugi George Kinyua, Pinuertorn Ronald and Wafula Robinson.

The announcement has shuttered the hopes of families and friends of the crew and passengers who hoped to find their loved ones alive.

At the rescue command centre at Njabini Boys High School in Nyandarua, relatives of victims were overcome by emotion on receiving the bad news.

Some were hurriedly bundled into ambulances and cars, which drive at high speed towards Naivasha.

Kinangop Deputy County Commissioner Daniel Nyameti said the search and rescue team that left for the crash site had inspected the plane and non of victims survived.

"Efforts to retrieve the bodies and wreck are on," he told journalists at Njabini.

Before the revelation, Transport Principal Secretary Paul Maringa had indicated that the plane's wreckage was “reasonably” damaged.

The wreck was spotted at 6.45am by the aerial search team at Elephant Point, some 11,000 feet above sea level.

“A ground team of military specialists in mountain rescue operations has been dispatched to the site, which is 11,900ft up a 400m cliff face in a dense area,” Prof Maringa told journalists at Transcom House in Nairobi.

At the Elephant Point, where the wreck was found, reports indicate the weather is becoming heavily misty.

However, Mr Nyameti said the safety of the rescue team is guaranteed despite the extreme weather.

"All precautions were taken before dispatch," he said.